Nepla: Short Races, & Short-Lived Ones

[calair.livejournal.com]

Having arrived in Nepla - home to the continent's greatest concentration of mages - and having completed Neil's quest, we settled down to some shopping. Was greatly looking forwards to a few days of peace and quiet.

Leirel found herself somewhere quiet to study magical books we had salvaged from the witches' cottage, and those of us who had money hurried about spending it. In the town square we bumped into a halfling, who proved to be a singer and raconteur going by the name of Tobias Thornleaf. Pip was pleased to meet a fellow halfling, and they spent much time comparing their heights, which are apparently very important to halflings.

NEIL: "You know what I need?"

CHELETH: "A sense of discretion?"

(Instead, Neil ended up buying tack and barding for his holy warpony. Who is quite pretty, as horses go, but not as imposing as Morris.)

Then, while we were chatting to Tobias, we felt an odd rippling sensation. Shortly following this, loud cries of dismay from all over town: their magics - and ours - had suddenly stopped working!

Much consternation. Investigation disclosed that this loss of magic had extended to the outskirts of the town. Speculation as to the cause - a sneak attack, perhaps? A plan to steal from the town's merchants while their magical wards were disabled?

Considered heading to the town's edge and taking feathered form to scout the area, but thought of accidentally flying into nonmagical region and turning back into elven form far above the ground did not appeal terribly much. In any case, guards and townsfolk could see no sign of attack.

At about the same time, Neil and I both decided it might be a good idea to check the town's sewers. However, since the sewers were only about three feet in height, we delegated the job of scouting these to Neil, Pip, and Toby. Good to see halflings and gnomes earning their keep.

TOBY: "My charisma's better than yours."
PIP: "It must be that two inches you've got on me."

The rest of us commenced filling buckets of water for use on our companions on their eventual emergence. Occasionally one or the other would pop up from one of the grates and report back. Pip encountered some sort of odd breeze down there, and there was much discussion about whether the local wildlife would be most likely to pick off the first, last, or middle of our three sewer scouts.

RIC: "Got rope? Tie each other up?"

Eventually, Neil came to a grate that could not be moved. Behind it, in the distance, he caught a glimpse of something skeletal - and apparently moving - but the light was too dim to be certain. On hearing this, we ascertained that the area in question was under a house near the town square; when taken to the house, Kanaye began sniffing at the door.

Discussion with the High Mage of Nepla, as to whether we could legally enter the house. It was agreed that we could knock on the door and see if anybody answered. Fortunately, when Ric knocked, the door proved to be unlocked, swinging open in front of him - although personally suspect this may have had something to do with application of small pieces of wire prior to knocking.

Inside, more bad smell. Neil headed downstairs to examine the basement; Kanaye climbed the stairs, and was attacked by some sort of tongue-skeleton-thing. Tongue hit him and he went down immediately.

NOT HAPPY.

Climbed past Kanaye and engaged the creature - which is apparently called a "mohrg" - with my new sword, as Ric and Toby came and we encircled the beast. Bloody nasty - proved to be very tough, and pounded Toby to the point where he had to make a retreat.

CHELETH: "When I get injured, I touch myself."

However, we managed to keep it occupied until Kanaye recovered the use of his limbs. Around this point we noticed that our magical abilities were starting, erratically, to return. Considered turning into something heavier and stronger, but floor was already threatening to give way under Kanaye's weight, and did not wish to bury those exploring the cellar. Eventually our weapons and repeated smashes from Kanaye's paws brought it down.

Meanwhile, the others had discovered a second mohrg down in the cellar. Am reliably informed Cheleth destroyed it single-handedly, v. good.

Pip helped heal Toby, and we established that there was nothing else in the house, although something - apparently magically shrunken - had left the cellar through a grating. Also, that the restoration of magic applied only within the house - outside, things still dead.

More discussion with High Mage. Seems owner of house was one dwarvish mage (honestly! Next they'll be trying to live in trees!) known for his interests in the darker side of magic.

Short people back into sewers. The rest of us noted that High Mage's house quite close, and with a sewer connection. She gave us permission to check her house, and Kanaye immediately picked up the dwarf's scent.

TOBY: "What is it about my arse? I mean, I know it's small and shapely..."

Back in the sewers, Neil does something or other involving ignition of flammable sewer gases, resulting in explosion and Toby falling face-forwards in the muck. Can only hope it made some sort of sense at the time to those who were there.

CALAIR: "As a paladin, you're obliged to give him mouth-to-mouth."

In the cellar, Ric notes large glowing magical-looking orb, and locked doors behind which High Mage reputedly keeps valuables. Ric promptly decides to see if our mystery Dwarven Mage is hiding behind one of those locked doors, an investigation which results in the loss of three fingers and the ringing of alarm bells.

*Sigh.*

High Mage heads downstairs, MOST displeased. Am about to try to defuse the situation, aiming for outcome other than "we kill the High Mage and flee the town as wanted criminals". Then Andrew elbows in front of me and attempts to cover for Ric.

*cries*

Andrew offers some sort of cock-and-bull story about how Ric was touching the orb, trying to disable it, when the alarms rang and his fingers came off, despite lock and blood and Ric's fingers being on the opposite side of the room from the orb. High Mage orders Ric to touch the orb again, which he does.

V. glad was not within line-of-sight of the orb at the time, since as a result am not caught in the resulting explosion. Neil, who had been standing near the grille on the sewer side, is blown away from the house. Then, oddly, blown back towards it by another mysterious gust of wind. Gnome pong! Ric smashes orb, and magical abilities flood back.

At this point, Dwarf Mage - hiding in basement corner - makes his presence known. Seems Ric, Andrew, and High Mage lady had all completely failed to notice him due to his wearing a dark cloak and not moving much for a bit.

*sigh*

Exchange of magical biffo. Kanaye heads downstairs and pins dwarf to the floor. Unfortunately, Kanaye still not very good at this whole "capture" thing, and dwarven ribs apparently not up to carrying entire weight of one-ton wolverine, so our captive becomes a corpse.

Meanwhile, Neil gets into fight with some sort of invisible air-elemental-thingy.

CALAIR: "Oh, a sewer elemental. Surprisingly common. Mages get them when they're little, then flush them when they're too much trouble to look after."

CHELETH: "An elemental isn't for Christmas, it's for life."

Shame was not there with Neil, as am currently learning Auran and would have appreciated chance to practice conversation, but c'est la vie. Neil found very cunning way to detect it, starting another fire and watching the disturbances it caused in the smoke.

At least, am being charitable and assuming this was not just the usual thing of setting fire to everything on general principle.

We then undertake negotiations with High Mage re. Ric's attempt to loot her possessions and Andrew's attempts to cover for him. Result of negotiations is that we are told to leave town and not come back, which is rather better than had hoped for given Ric and Andrew's previous contributions. HM tells us we may return if we bring her the teeth of a mature adult red dragon, though suspect this is just an attempt to get us killed by m.a.r.d., and cannot honestly blame her in current mood.

Discussion re. Ric's missing fingers. We have a ring that will slowly regenerate such things, currently in Neil's keeping, and Ric still has a few fingers left to wear it on. But this involves Ric attempting to explain to Neil exactly why he is missing fingers, and what this has to do with our being thrown out of town. Neil lectures Ric at length - he really needs to start carrying little tracts or something.

*grumble*

Console self by thinking about time when put Ric in sack and beat him with sticks. Attempt to persuade Ric to go back into aforementioned sack, but no luck this time.

*sulk*

Travelling with other races v. broadening, but sometimes would be nice if they had an ounce of sense.