trans_9 | Dungeon Keeper

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Dungeon Keeper

The Tapestry had spoken. Not in words, but in ideas and images, ciphers and cryptic nonsense that had been laboriously deciphered, interrogated with spells and technology, pieced together from scrap. They had led here.

Planet Designation: AST994-III Status: Terrestrial, K-class. Non-sentient life: None. Semi-Sentient Life: None. Sentient Life: None. Water: None. Climate: Desert/barren. Landscape: Rocky crags. Air: Normoxic concentration: 29% oxygen, 60% nitrogen, 3% xenon, 6% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon. Air Pressure: 14.352 pounds per square inch. Sky: Red. Cloudless. Sun: Class A star. Warnings: Information from Tapestry indicates significant underground population. Subsurface information not available. Use caution. Mission: ?

Somewhere down there, an object valuable and vital to the mission lay in wait, something so important that its existence was encoded into the Tapestry itself. Whatever it was, they needed to get it.

The only problem was, how to get in? The subterranean world had no access to the surface, and to physically breach it would not only be prohibitive, but catastrophic to the point of apocalypse to that underground world. Science could not solve this problem; thus, the crew turned to magic. The Tapestry had provided what were, after some analysis, unquestionably teleport coordinates. Five of them, for three people each.

To ensure the crew members were not lost, nor left behind without help, contingent spells were laid upon them, to return them to safety and help should they become injured, or should they find the item.

Without further ado -- with no natives to meet and negotiate with, no further preliminaries to make or plans to be made -- each of the five groups, with their supplies and equipment, were taken to the start.

[OOC: Don't worry too much about posting order. I will jump in where a response from the mysterious sky narrator is needed! Going with this, if you feel you're getting lost or outraced in posting, let me or the group know and we'll slow it down. The explicit purpose of this plot is for everyone to have fun, so please speak up if there's anything anyone can do to make that happen better!]

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Kaya was on her guard, but was at least a little calmed by the fountain. If they were just pain water, she at least had a way to defend herself besides the sword. The room did little to calm her fears though: the robes seemed to indicate what she would have thought as holy robes.

"Why are they so small?" She said aloud. "Were these worshipers children? The way out of here is so small."

She looked at the others. "Do you think the water is safe to gather?"

Celena herself seemed to be devoid of any obvious weapons, and seemed quite calm and curious rather than on edge as she moved over to examine the fountain.

"It could be that the species that lives here is merely shorter than most humans,"

Passing a glance to their armoured companion, "It will be a tight fit for you it seems," She commented off hand as she dipped her hand into the water, letting her vision shift to energy and magic to see if the water had any properties. "It should be safe enough to gather, to drink on the other hand, we shall see,"

"Could be small heretics, could be the size of the people here is just smaller."

He shrugs his shoulders and says, "I"ll find a way to squeeze through. Somehow."

Given the OK that the water was probably ok, Kaya opened her water skin and waved her hand, and it streamed into the container. She may not have the upper hand and having water all around, but at least she would have it if she needed to use it quickly.

"So do we want to try crawling through, guys?"

The water was, in fact, more than okay; it was cold, pure, and virtually untainted save for a particularly strong mineral taste. Given its apparent source, that should be no surprise. It possessed neither magical properties nor any unusual nature to the senses of dragon or waterbender.

After nothing showed up from her analysis she brought a cupped hand of water up to sip, pondering the taste before nodding, "Safe to drink as well," she commented with a smile before she moved over to investigate the door in question, watching from the corner of her eye as Kaya streamed the water from the fountain to her container.

Pulling the door open after but a moment of examination, looking through to what ever lay beyond, "If this is the way out there is little way else to go apart from forward," she glanced over her shoulder to the other two.

"I suppose there is nothing to do but crawl."

He turns his head, not looking at the quasi-sorcerous waterbending, quietly seething with anger as he does so. The Templar is intolerant, but like most of the crew of their ship, he has his reasons for his disgust and rage.

"All right then," Kaya said, blissfully unaware of any rage and disgust directed at her, "we crawl."

She was already prepared to do so, if only to see what else they had to face next.

Pulling the door open revealed a great chamber beyond that had all the trappings of a church. They stood some fifteen feet behind the great altar, on which a statue of similar iconic abstraction sat. Stairs led down to the pews, which stretched out for rows on each side. Tapestries hung on the wall between stained-glass windows, a mighty organ sat in a nook to their left, and far beyond great double doors stood open, offering glimpses of a city outside.

All of it was scaled as the doors were -- to the size of the inhabitants. Gnomes. And there were quite a lot of inhabitants; they had clearly stumbled into the middle of a ceremony. In the ominous silence that fell the moment the doors opened, hundreds upon hundreds of eyes stared at them in outright shock.

The high priest, or at least, the gnome who was standing by the altar gesticulating and preaching up until the moment they'd stepped through, was foremost among the gawkers. But he was the first to break the spell of shock and awe that had come over the congregation; he stepped forward, arms spread and babbling at them in a language they didn't speak.

Well. That explained the size of the doors, Celena thought with some amusement, letting her gaze sweep through the crowded church, taking in every detail in but a moment, from the fact that there appeared to be a ceremony going on before the glance outside that showed that they were within an underground city of sorts.

What did get her attention was the Gnome who appeared to be the high priest or at least the leader of the congregation before them. When he spoke though she tilted her head curiously, that she could not understand him was something of interest. Drawing on her abilities she brushed his mind telepathically on a passive level to get an idea of just what he was saying. Holding up her hands toward him in a non threatening manner as she ducked through the arch.

"My apologies for the interruption, we were unaware of the location of our..arrival, we did not mean to intrude," she spoke slowly and smoothly aiding her explanation with gestures in the case that they didn't understand.

Well, these are things he understands, or thinks he does. Ratkin, small demihumans from his own world. He seems less than alarmed by them, though the sign of a ritual not directed towards the Emperor of mankind makes his fist itch ferocioiusly.

Through telepathy, Celena could sense that he was welcoming them in a friendly manner... but clearly the gnome could understand not a word of her tongue. As soon as she spoke more than a few words, he swiftly raised his hands to beg her to halt, then began making arcane passes in the air while speaking words of power.

Yeah, this was feeling more and more awkward to the waterbender, who had never seen such a ceremony conducted save for the mass that Daimon would hold from time to time out of curiosity. She looked at her companions, and then back at the gathering, specifically with the gnome priest.

"Um, are you guys used to this kind of thing? Because I'm not...what's happening?"

Celena on the other hand had a rather number of encounters, whether stumbling across them while exploring new areas or intentionally. She dipped her head to the Gnome priest, "I believe he can understand as little of what we're saying as we can he, I get the sense however that he was welcoming us with no ill intent,"

When the gnome began to cast she watched on carefully though keeping an eye on their armoured companion having noted his seeming dislike of magic, "It would appear that he's casting something that may well allow us to communicate,"

The spell took but a moment to cast, and then when the gnome spoke once more, it was in a high-pitched but perfectly coherent tongue. "Great representatives of Megu-Kinittix, praise be to His Name and Nose! We welcome you and bless your coming in our time of need!"

"I have faith only in the God-Emperor of mankind. What is it that you require of me, mortals?"

ERhart, at least, can boom impressively from his vox-caster at the gnomes.

Kaya had no idea what all of this was about, and she really didn't know what to make of their companion, but she hoped they could all put their differences aside for this mission.

"We are visitors to your world. We are honored to be here."

Celena watched the Gnome with great interest as the spell was complete, especially so when he spoke. A useful spell indeed, though 'mega-kinittix'? Their deity perhaps? or one of, it was likely that the temple they were in was devoted to the one in question.

"We are grateful for your welcome. As our large friend here enquires, how may we be of assistance?" She gestured past her to Erhart with a respectful nod his way before turning back to the Gnome, her cheerful expression ever present.

"Ah, yes, well, I certainly would be the last person to question the faith of another," the priest said in a cheerful manner, "but, well, you DID just step out of the holiest of holies, the inner sanctum of our god, just as we were pleading for aid from the Great One, may His simple machines never become overly complex." The priest bowed in reverence at his own words.

"Ah, but! A fearsome Eyesore has taken up residence in the lower bowels of our home. We have not the power or strength to vanquish it! We beg of you, heroes who have come in the name of our god (despite apparently worshiping a different god entirely), help us! Do so and we shall gladly grant you whatsoever you seek!"

"Show me to the Eyesore and it shall be slain."

He brings his closed fist against his breastplate, clashing it loudly, obviously prepared for a fight, and the idea of a release of this nature is a tremendous boon for him. (Mostly because it will keep anyone else from getting killed.)

Something (DUH) tole Kaya she ought to keep a wary eye on this particular member of their party. He seemed to be a little too ready to go out and kill something, even without knowing much of the details. That was a little scary.

"Well, we aren't quite sure how we arrived, but we will help however we can. Can you give us some more information about this enemy of yours?"

Celena dipped her head to the gnome, quite interesting that the teleport location had been in their holiest of holy places for the worship of their deity.

"We will do all we can to remove this Eyesore from the bowels of your home, one way or the other," she glanced across to Erhart, hopefully that would not include slaughtering what ever it may be.

"Ah yes! Please, come with me!" the priest said quite excitedly. It turned, speaking hurriedly and at length to the congregation they'd interrupted as he passed down the aisle that led to the great doors of the cathedral.

"Can I get you anything to aid you?" he inquired over his shoulder. "What can I do to assist?"

Erhart shakes his head, rumbling, "The other two may have requirements for you, but duty is reward enough for me. Lead on."

Kaya naturally agreed with their hulking friend...almost.

"If I could have another canteen for water, it would help me greatly."

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