Zune – blogpost 2

The Gnome that hangs from the rope trick is getting into an argument with Valentine. I leave those two to it and hasten to the bloodied Gnome Calyx. I introduce myself again and cure his wounds as well. 

When I’m done with curing Calyx, Valentine and the other Gnome are done with their argument. Valentine turns around and walks to a body on the ground further away. I’m wondering if they lost someone… 

The Gnome from the ceiling finally introduces himself: Farryn. I feel like this is a party, but there is also a lot of individualism here… What is up with that… I’m distracted by my own thoughts for a moment but called back by Farryn’s question. “So. Why are you here?”

“I’m here to find my mentor. He went to the dungeon to find treasure and came back to me once he found it, but still felt he needed more treasure. He became greedy, and I was worried after a couple of tendays, so I decided to look for him.” 

Farryn is visibly losing interest. I think I’m taking a lot of his attention by talking too much. I stop talking and ask: “Can I stay with you guys? Can you help me?”

“Yeah, you can stay,” says Farryn, and he walks away. I follow.

I see the party mourning a fallen member, but I keep some distance to let them do their own thing. I am cleaning up dead zombies in the room and find a ring on a dead elf. The ring has a bird on it. 

I approach the party. The party member is called Enola and got killed by the Death Tyrant. However, she turned into a zombie and needed to be killed again, but now by her own party. 

Valentine takes Enola in her arms and drags the body to the lava. She drops the body into the cavern but doesn’t show any emotion. Calyx creates an illusion of a book that closes above the place Enola sank into the lava and there are some beautiful colors too. 

After the sad goodbye, we go to explore. However, when we enter a room, we hear a ‘swoosh’-sound and ‘TELEPORTED’! A knife flies through the room, and Calyx gets teleported. I was so frightened, I just hopped against the wall and stayed there. We have to find Calyx, so we make our way through the obstacle course. We pass another room where we see a statue of Hallaster with crystal veins in the wall. We know, apparently, that the veins lead us to the next level below. Around a corner, I spot another room with gold inside and again veins in the wall, but this time it’s golden. All the doors are blasted open in this area, so I don’t really feel safe. Then… Farryn walks to a door and disappears: ‘TELEPORTED’. 

Only Valentine and I are left. “We have a plan,” she says. “When we lose each other, we get to the entrance of this obstacle course. I always use dimension door.” 

I nod to show her I’m totally trusting her to get us safely to the meet-up spot. I grab her hand and close my eyes. 

When I open my eyes, we’re not at some entrance. I feel I’m slipping, but I can prevent myself from falling. Valentine is still holding my hand, and shouts: “NO! Oh shit! It went wrong!” 

She holds me in her arms when I’m on solid ground. Oof, I almost fell into the lava below. 

“It sometimes goes wrong, especially when I’m distracted,” says Valentine. “Let’s go again?” 

“Yeah, okay, fine. Please pay attention this time!” I tell her. I don’t close my eyes this time. 

In a couple of seconds, we’re at the main entrance and I see Farryn and Calyx. “We found you guys!” I shout happily. 

A bit later, we find a couple of Magma Mephits in a cave. Calyx conjures some more to help us get in touch with them to ask what they’re doing and why they’re here. Apparently, the Mephits are guards. For the right price, they can do something. What they can do, is unknown to me. They’re guarding some entry, and to go through, all we need to do is sign a contract. There are no details whatsoever. The original Magma Mephits come over, they had enough of Calyx’s conjurations, and want to talk to their ‘boss’. 

They hand us a contract, and Farryn reads it first. He cannot understand it, so he gives it to Valentine. With her helmet of comprehend languages, she can read it. However, she cannot explain what it says. I don’t understand it either. I read it for a bit and then ask for someone who can help me interpret it because I have no clue what these words mean. Calyx helps, and he concludes that the contract is highly ambiguous, but that it’s arranging passage to the elemental plane of fire. It’ll open a portal, but someone has to sign or sacrifice something; a soul. Valentine wants to go through to get to her loved one, so we have to think of a way to get her there, without killing someone. 

Farryn says he is looking for Grond. I have no clue who or what that is, but probably it drowned or burnt to ashes in the lava. Grond is a steel defender and Farryn’s friend. Calyx sends his familiar Ropi to find Grond. The created Mephits also go look for Grond, but the only thing that is found after almost an hour is a sort of shield, that Calyx is going to use. Farryn decides to create a new version of Grond when we take a break. 

We decide to take a short rest, but I hear some sounds of iron on stone… That doesn’t sound right… I’m on high alert, but nothing happens in our downtime.