Chapter 4: Under the Tree

[Pulpatoon]

You are in a chamber underground, surrounded by neolithic weapons and toxic puffballs. You are traversing a rough path from one side of the chamber to the other.

It is dim and the air is thick with smoke, spores, and moisture.

To the left side of your path is a crude stack of stones, arranged like a hearth. The stone hearth is heaped with dust and ash. Three particularly large lumps reveal themselves on even cursory inspection to be small ceramic pieces.

In the tunnel behind you, you have left your companion, Marcus.

[Pulpatoon]

Ceramic pieces, as in pieces of something broken? Do they look like they could be put together, or are they distinct objects themselves?

They are separate objects. Weird pots or little statues or something.

[PyroArrow]

Tokioso 'Gizzy' Gizmoebius [AC: 12 HP: 2/5]:

Can Gizzy tell if the 3 ceramic pieces are of dwarven or other make, after knocking off the dust & ash?

Intelligence check: [3d6] = 9

[Pulpatoon]

Brushing the detritus off the ceramic pieces, they are revealed to be squat, stylized figures. The appear to be very old and delicate, and it's a little heard to tell where the coat of dust ends and the soft, powdery pigments decorating them begin.

The figures have round bodies, like the belly of vases, and stunted little limbs that are folded in close to the body. The heads are impish looking, with upturned, porcine noses, pointed ears, tiny pin-prick eyes, and peculiarly curved mouths that are very hard to read a definite expression into.

They do not appear to be of Dwarven make, or at least not any Dwarven culture Gizzy any of you are familiar with. But it's a big world.

[mb.]

Bürd gives the three figurines his full attention and a few moments of concentration. Does there appear to be anything magical about them?

[Pulpatoon]

Bürd:

The ceramic pieces, so small in the physical world, are very large in the magical world. Whatever the nature of the magic is has been wrapped and folded in upon itself for a long time, and it is hard to discern anything more specific about it other than immensity.

[KingOfCowards]

Simon stands on the back with his torch held high, awaiting word on what Burd has found.

[mb.]

Bürd turns around, open-mouthed, "lads, I kinnae tell ye what these are, but they're as magical as th'elf queen's titties. I'm of two minds 'bout if'n we'd best take 'em or get the hell away from 'em quick as we kin."

[PyroArrow]

Tokioso 'Gizzy' Gizmoebius [AC: 12 HP: 2/5]:

Says to Burd,
"Go ahead & take them, they may come in handy later. Unless you fear they are evil & could take control of you, of course."

[mb.]

Bürd considers a moment, shrugs, wraps the figures in a scraps of cloth and stashes them, and continues on to the exit of the chamber.

[Pulpatoon]

The party, sans Marcus, makes its way through the chamber and into the tunnel on the other side. This tunnel is much like first: roots, mushrooms, smoke and damp and dark. It curves around in the opposite direction from the other tunnel, and does indeed seem to be circumnavigating the roots system of the great oak tree above.

About 15 feet in, just far enough to have lost sight of the hearth chamber, you find another attempt to build a wall. This one is more complete, rising unevenly about four feet from the floor of the chamber.

[PyroArrow]

Tokioso 'Gizzy' Gizmoebius [AC: 12 HP: 2/5]:

Does this wall cut across the path or built along side it on one side?

[Pulpatoon]

The wall cuts across the path.

[PyroArrow]

Tokioso 'Gizzy' Gizmoebius [AC: 12 HP: 2/5]:

Ok, what do we see beyond the wall & below it on the other side?

[Pulpatoon]

On the other side of the wall are a pile of stones almost identical to the ones you were just lobbing at puffballs, a bucket of mortar, and stone tools. Beyond the wall, the tunnel continues, darker and smokier than ever.

[mb.]

Being a dwarf and all, does Bürd have any sense of how far they are from the spherical chamber?

[mb.]

"Looks like whatever they were hopin' t'keep in we're in that chamber back there." Bürd looks around, up and down, and shrugs, "let's 'ave this wall down then, aye?" He starts checking the brickwork to find the easiest way to dismantle the wall.

[PyroArrow]

Tokioso 'Gizzy' Gizmoebius [AC: 12 HP: 2/5]:

Says,

"It's only 4 feet high, we could just hop over it & toss the Dwarf over."

[KingOfCowards]

I agree, we could probably climb over this short wall pretty easily. Does it seem stable enough so that we wouldn't knock it over with our weight?

[mb.]

Bürd grinds his teeth, "we could also just dismantle the talkin' machine and throw 'im over piece by piece."