0: starting up

[uburoi]

You know, Gentle Reader, how you can hear your name mentioned across a crowded room, no matter the noise. In a similar fashion Koblenz heard the phrase "300 gold pieces" upon entering the Squib, and through careful manuevering and a few mumbled apologies (and a couple of toes stepped on), he had gained a seat close to the location where the man in merchant's clothing who had spoken the magic phrase stood.

He recognized the group the merchant spoke to - Antonio, Ponto and (oog) the half-orcish Thurgood. He REALLY hoped Thurgood had forgotten about The Incident at the Demon.

"Alone and unarmed?" he said of the merchant in a hearty booming voice, deafening a hobbit at a nearby table. "I don't blame you for being careful, sir. A set of noble adventurers are just what you seek, and I'm sure my associates will join me in not failing you!"

The other three looked on Koblenz as one would greet the arrival of a small overenthusiastic puppy which had just deposited a small furry mess at one's feet and was waiting for a pat on the head. Antonio sighed and shook his head.

"Now, sir," Koblenz said, brightening further, "as to this matter of funds for the equipping of our party..."

[ragnorakk]

[disagreeociates? I suppose this is the mangling of some
helpful censor-script...wild-equine-ociates?

It also wont let you say anything about a certain kind of barbed
spear - the harp-oon ]

[lostheretic]

"Hold on a second!" Antonio hopped to his feet and eyed the newcomer. He definitely wasn't a local, but the display of bravado unnerved the ex-paladin. Suddenly he realized how public their discussion was, something he should have known from his training. He put his hand gently on Thurgood's shoulder.

"Is this a friend of yours? Or should we show him the exit?"

[uburoi]

Mar 31, 2009 10:11:25 GMT -5 ragnorakk said:

[disagreeociates? I suppose this is the mangling of some
helpful censor-script...wild-equine-ociates?

It also wont let you say anything about a certain kind of barbed
spear - the harp-oon ]

OOC: "disagreeociates" = "m-y as-s-ociates". Freakin' proboards censor-script!

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Thurgood to Antonio. ;D

"Ah", thurgood says with a rueful grin " Allow me to introduce Koblenz sometimes called the Red". "I Believe the last time we meet he was roaring drunk in the Demon tavern and had some interesting opinions on my parentage in specific and half-orcs in general".

"However before we could really get to the heart of the matter ( I with a broken bottle and he with a pewter tankard ) he managed to dump his ale all over the captain of a wandering band of mercenaries and our argument was rather lost in the ensuing .....hmm scuffle".

"He may not be the brightest or most tactful companion, but he is handy in a fight and ( Thurgood Grins broadly ) no one will blame us if he doesn't make it back".

[lostheretic]

"I don't like that method of diplomacy, but if you can vouch for his sword arm..." Antonio frowned as he reclined back into his chair.

"But before we get busy spending money, anyone have ideas on where to start looking for clues?"

[ragnorakk]

The merchant hefts a pouch of coins onto your table.

"Clues? I imagine that if there's an answer to be found, it'll
be in the place that has become my store-room. Yes, I'd like
to know why this has happened - how to restore it to its
normal operation - but I have secured an audience with
Nyor-Elze tomorrow, and he expects that I will provide him
with the Texts I've promised. Right now, that is the more
pressing issue."

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Thurgood eyes the bag on the table.

"Well fellows as it appears that time is of the essence I recommend we make any arrangements or purchases needed and start with all due haste"

"Now before we adjourn, Haburat sir how do we gain access to this pocket dimension and how is it lit. Will we need torches or lanterns?"

OOC: is it still early enough to do a little shopping?

[ragnorakk]

[It's maybe 2 or 3 pm at the latest - shopping could yet be done]

"I will wait here - when you return, we'll go up to my rooms, where the
Portal is secured...ah - light? No, it is not lit, though as you'll see, the exit
point of the Portal sheds enough light to reveal the details of the entry
room...but yes! This must be accomplished speedily!"

"Which reminds me - time on the other side seems normal, but in fact,
hours there pass as seconds here..."

[ragnorakk]

Shall we assume you gentlement are busy buying goodies - or stuffing
25 gps into your pockets - and are ready to go?

[Toad-Killer-Dog]

Thurgood quickly divvies up the gold and heads off to the local outfitter.

Once there he quickly makes a few key purchases and heads back to the Squib to meet up with Haburat and his new found companions.

OOC: Thurgood bought a Poniard, 5 extra torches, a Crowbar and a Pair of Gauntlets.

Edit: updated character sheet as well.

[ragnorakk]

(sorry - I'm not gonna get an early post up for the next few
days, but will be able to check in by late afternoon/early evenings)

Going to equip or keeping your advance, you are together again at the Squib.
The Trader takes you to the third floor, where he has a couple of rooms. There
are guardsmen on this floor of a different caliber than the watchcmen and
mercenaries more common in the streets below. They defer to Haburat.

He leads you into a room and hefts a coil of rope from where it hangs on the
wall. This rope he lays on the floor in a large circle and joins the ends together
in a brass socket. He places one foot on the socket and concentrates for a
moment, whereupon the wooden floor delimited by the coil of rope shifts and
changes to cool, dark stone.

Haburat takes his foot off the brass assembly. "Step into the circle from here -
you go there. Step into the circle from there, you return here. There is no rope
on the other side - the portal can only be closed from this side. And I will be
the whole time - as I'm sure that you'll be gone only a few minutes".

You ready yourselves and step onto the stone floor. As your feet first step onto
the stone, you feel a flash of nausea for a second and everything goes white.
You hear a strange high-pitched laugh as if from a distance...

...and you materialize again, in cold, dark room, illuminated by a dim coruscating
glow around the wooden circle you stand on. But not just you are standing here!
There is now a 2' tall Leprechaun among you, with a look of thorough confusion on his face.

The room is 30'x30', the ceiling a little over 10' from the floor.
There is an archway at the north end of the west wall, and another
at the east end of the north wall.
The air is musty and thick, you hear no sounds from beyond the archways.

(I'll edit in a crude map in a little while)

[lostheretic]

Antonio puts his hands on his knees and looks down at the Leperchaun, "Hey there little buddy."

[ragnorakk]

;D

[badude]

"...not where I should be... How did that happen? Must be some kind of prank."

Monty begins to search all over his person for something. He checks his pockets and pouches and after clearly not finding what it is he is looking for, he begins taking his armor off.

"They must've stuck it somewhere. Ah-HA. Cheeky, rotten, toadstoods. I know where you put it. Stuffed it down my trousers, I'll bet."

After removing the last of his armor, he begins to undo his belt, but stops when he notices four armed strangers in the room with him. He quickly glances at his armor and is visibly disappointed at his carelessness. He slowly cracks a wide grin.

"Well at least my pants are still up."

He grins nervously and waits to see how they respond to the joke.