The Game Thread

[Juramenta]

[tibbius]

Black Dog's haunches twitch and then, abruptly, she leaps forward. Her jaws clamp down on a fragile neck and then, she scrambles back into the torchlight.

It tastes like a snake.

Elcroon and Delx both recognize a chicken sized lizard with yellow-glowing eyes, glistening white scales, and red spiky crest. They know that alchemists pay big money for cockatrice eyes and crests, and that cockatrice skin is fashionable for shoes and gloves.

[jemmus]

Delx has the Know skill, so maybe some familarity with metalworking? A general idea of what's involved?

Delx stops and watches Black Dog viciously go after the creature.

[tibbius]

Delx has the Know skill, so maybe some familarity with metalworking? A general idea of what's involved?

Delx blinks in recognition - those tall shadowy shapes are the furnaces of a smelter. He can dimly see chimneys rising from the furnaces up into the distant darkness of the ceiling.

[Juramenta]

Remain still prey. I caught you, now surrender your fate to master she mentally sneers at the creature as she brings the poor lizard back to her companions.
Master will decide your fate. Stop struggling in front of master. It is unbecoming she growls at the creature and shakes it wildly around until it gives up the struggle and fully submits.

[jemmus]

Well done, Black Dog, Delx says. Elcroon, what do you think? Kill it, or bag it and keep it alive? I suppose it have more value to a buyer alive. But I wouldn't want the thing crying out at an inopportune moment.

[Grognardsw]

“The risk is too great
Seal its fate!”

[jemmus]

Delx murmurs, Sorry and runs the creature through with his spear, careful not to injure Black Dog and perforate the hide only in one spot-- the belly. He guts it with his hunting knife, drains the blood, and puts the body in his pack.

[Juramenta]

As the spear pierces the creature, Black Dog immediately loosens her grip, letting the lizard fall from her mouth. She watches with keen eyes as Master carefully runs the creature through, ensuring her own safety and preserving the valuable hide.

Well done, Black Dog she echoes in her mind, the words of praise from her master filling her with pride. Her tail begins to waggle with satisfaction.
She doesn’t seek more attention, content with the praise she’s already received. Master is pleased, so I am pleased, she thinks as she observes her companions.

[tibbius]

Gutting a cockatrice takes time ... so: <a href=https://www.unseenservant.com/index.php ... >Depletion [2d6]=10</a>

You're all hungry. Time is hard to track in the darkness but it feels like brunch or 11ses time. -1 ST, cumulative to the cold effect, so you add +2 to all dice rolled against ST until you remedy this.

The cockatrice is gutted and skinned. You have meat, entrails, and scaly skin. Do you dare eat cockatrice cooked over a torch?

[Juramenta]

I'll take my meat raw, my good sir

[Grognardsw]

If we knew Ghostal was in a snowy mountain, wouldn’t we be garbed for the cold?

Elcroon pulled his furred cloak tighter as he surveyed the kilns by the warm light of his and Delx’s torches. The musicmancer’s stomach growled; his hand instinctively felt for his rations.

“What’s it to be?
Explore more and see?
I admit to being hungry.”

[tibbius]

If we knew Ghostal was in a snowy mountain, wouldn’t we be garbed for the cold?

Soothly. But it's darn cold.

[jemmus]

Delx is leery of eating cockatrice meat. He takes a conservative amount rations from his pack and eats, sharing some with Black Dog.

[tibbius]

After sating your hunger, you take a look around the room. It's big. It's dark. The ceiling is high. There are ten smelting furnaces, each about twenty feet high and ten feet around. The hearths are long since cold. One furnace has the bottom burst, and a three-foot-high pile of clinkers clutters the hearth.

There are four exits from here (counting the doors you came in). Starting from those double iron doors let's number the exits 1, 2, 3, 4. Exits 2 and 4 are dwarf-sized tunnel openings, arched just high enough for you to pass without quite ducking. Exit 3 is a very tall opening, about twelve feet high. None of the other exits have doors.

Which exit do you choose?

[Juramenta]

Black Dog moves toward her master as he sits down to eat. When he offers her something to eat, her tail waggles in gratitude. She carefully takes the food from his hand, mindful not to bite his fingers.
Send me off if you must, Master, she thinks as she gently pushes her nose against his cloak, seeking warmth.
Finding an opening, she slips inside and curls up, placing her head on his lap. The cold bites at her fur, but the warmth from his body brings her comfort.
So cold she thinks as she begins to eat the gift that was given to her, feeling safe and content under her master’s protection.

Black dog will resume duties as soon as they proceed into a direction of their choosing.

[jemmus]

Delx
So now we know what the stone dwarves statues are. Victims of a cockatrice, it seems. It was a productive one, wasn't it? We should watch out for other ones, I think. I wonder what the dwarves were making with these furnaces? He carries his torch over the to closest one and waves it about, his fingers numb and his breath steaming before him.

What do you say, Elcroon? Should we check the most important looking exit way first? I mean, the one with tall doors?

[Grognardsw]

“Aye, a productive cockatrice indeed!
One hopes it’s the only one of its breed
Or I’ll be fleeing with speed!”

Replying on next steps, Elcroon versed:

“Aye, through the tall door let us explore
Perhaps its grandeur will yield what is promised in lore.”

[tibbius]

Black Dog dogs your steps as Elcroon and Delx advance with torches held high behind their heads. The lights reveal another room of monumental scale ... as you walk around the perimeter of the room,

Depletion [2d6]=7

you realize it is a dwarfen Foundry. There are furnaces cut into the walls and large ladles lying on the floor next to shattered molds.

Of more interest, an iron golem stands inert at the middle of the room. It carries a massive ladle in both hands. The golem is just short enough to pass under the 12 foot arch of the doorway you entered.

There are two other exits from the Foundry, one to the left and one to the right.

What do you?

Your noses drip from dust and cold.

[Juramenta]

Black Dog resumes her duty.
The sheer scale of the room doesn’t intimidate her, but does make her wait for a second before moving in. Lowering her head, she lets her nose do the heavy lifting, sniffing the air and the ground as she begins to pick up various scents.
She concentrates on filtering through them, searching for any trace of something unusual, be it a hidden threat or a concealed passage. I will find what Master needs to know, she thinks as she ciphers through the various scents.

Moving into the room, she eyes the inert iron golem cautiously. Big metal one. Not moving yet. You better not. Your size won’t keep me from defending master she thinks, yet keeping a safe distance as she sniffs the surrounding area. Before deciding which exit to scout first, she takes a moment to assess all the scents she managed to pick up.
If she picks up nothing out of the unusual, she will head for the golem to make sure it won’t come alive and catch master off guard.