[Quest] The Training Dungeon - Volcanic Vents

The gate at the end of the room began to grind away as the Gembounds searched for loot. And loot there was aplenty: coins scattered here and there, armor, weapons. It was a fitting reward for what had in the end been an adventure with... relatively minor risk.

Beyond the gate lay a tunnel. This tunnel was one that merged with three others: all four dungeon wings recombining into a single exit, a half-collapsed (but still traversible) open passageway that wound, quite far, back up to Lacerta's surface. The top was safe, overgrown but miraculously free of predators, and in fact not too far from the staging ground where they'd started.

They would be free to go, with the experience, minor injuries, and loot that they'd acquired--and a story to tell, if they chose to share it.

Surely Bartholomew Bear would wish to know of their survival.

Click for Loot Results!

Rajani finds a total of nineteen more coins in a small, if battered and aged, leather pouch. It will nevertheless remain intact if handled carefully, for now. In addition he finds a shining brass crown. While not enchanted, it is inlaid with little rubies, and seems oddly pristine for how long it's been down here.

Thalassa finds a similar pouch with nineteen coins, though the leather was once dyed purple. It's since faded to an ugly gray. He also finds a strange 'ring,' though shaped more as a cuff: tarnished-looking silver, intricately engraved with black carvings of a stylized nature. This ring slides perfectly onto one of his jutting teeth, if he so chooses, and is enchanted with Dissipate, shrouding it in a shadowy aura. While it won't hide all of Thalassa, it can help shroud him from the front--or create a cool "maw of darkness" effect should he open his mouth.

Bauxite-T-One finds a strange little pile. It was like the skeletons, with armor and weapons and pouches: three broken, rusted axes. Two broken shields. A pouch. But... no bones. And why so many items in one place? The odd opal lying in the middle of all these things had teeth in it, arranged almost... circularly. Like a Sandworm maw, but cut in half, as though the stone had once been part of a rounded, many-fanged mouth. A mouth... without bones? The stone would be easily revived, rife with magic. And at that point, the reason for the many (now useless) weapons and shields would be clear. The long-dead adventurer had been, by the simplest definition, a humanoid starfish. To explain further would be to enter a strange territory of spined, pebbled orange-pink flesh mottled purple. One would need to describe a full six limbs, capable of regeneration. A head--and eyes--and stomach, and... other parts, all clustered at the center of those limbs. It had been an incredibly resilient, tough and adaptable creature, until it had been burned to death.

Tourmaline would locate eight Coins, along with an interesting pendant: an ash-covered platinum chain, the platinum pendant at the end (a circular disc) featuring a ark brown-green gemstone carved in the shape of a blooming flower. This gemstone--ironically dravite Tourmaline--was enchanted with Flourish, and would somewhat increase the rate of plant growth around it.

Surgis finds seventeen coins in a tiny cloth sack, barely holding them. There's also, hidden in a corner half under ash and rotten leather, something shining. Or, at least, it would be--once the treasure-hunter cleaned it up a little. It was a box, not too large--maybe a foot across, and eight inches tall--made of filigreed and engraved silver. Open it up, and within was a chess set: an unfolding board, attached to the case itself, with squares of beautifully polished obsidian and alabaster. The chess pieces were made of shining, hand-carved and richly blue-green Aquamarine for one side--and these were water-themed pieces, flowing and elegant--and bright, fiery and glittering orange Topaz for the other, which were shaped more like fire, with upward-sweeping waves. It seemed to have been an adventurer's looted treasure, before they themselves met a terrible end in this room.

It would take Fahl a bit of searching to find something to fit his body but he would locate something, in addition to the nineteen more coins he'd find: a backswept steel helmet, inlaid with a line of glittering diamond. It had backward-pointing spikes, and was fitted to curve around the eyes and over the longer snout of a reptile or mammal with his general shape. Any padding or latches had been worn away, and it was not enchanted--though both of these things, to the optimistic mind, simply meant that it could be better tailored and customized to Fahl himself if he so chose.

Tyrin would find eleven coins in a leather sack. To his dismay, he would also find that his magic didn't do what he thought it would. Gem Sense would ping off all the living Gembounds in the room, not lost stones. For that--Detect Magic might have aided him. Still, with some searching, he could find a red gemstone; not his own, but a simple Ruby. Though easy to revive, it had once held a rather odd shape: a hulking, gorilla-like humanoid about seven feet tall, heavily muscled but perfectly bald, bearing peach-hued skin over its entire form. That skin also covered the otherwise scorpion-like tail that curled along its back, its hook dangling over its own head until needed, ready to inject a paralytic and painful venom.

September would find four coins, scattered about, and an interesting trinket... an orb, formed of mottled green Agate, with bronze filigreed throughout it. Despite being round, the orb's metal filigree was a map of the caves as a whole, as accurate as could be made by whoever had created it. Carefully etched lines depicted each cave and tunnel, with a couple connections he'd find weren't open to this day--such as the tram between Draco and Cassiopeia. Otherwise it was mostly a work of art, unenchanted but of superb quality--the sort of thing a wizard would proudly place on a display shelf (and keep carefully dust-free).

V-Agate-One would find a very interesting enchanted little item, in its own black leather pouch alongside seven coins. The pouch was oddly intact, and would remain so. The item itself was a pair of engraved bone dice. On its own, they might have seemed simple: just bone dice, albeit in surprisingly good condition, with unknown little dots and symbols on each face. They had probably been intended for idle gambling, or maybe fortune-telling--but they'd been enchanted with Pebblequake. That meant that they were constantly rumbling: vibrating and occasionally toppling themselves, rerolling their own facing sides. Self-rolling bone dice. Interesting, but strange.

Hargrave plucked from the ashes a beautifully crafted battle-axe: one intended for two hands, but not overbearingly large. It had two cutting edges, one to each side of the axe's head. The thing was formed of bronze, shining, but inlaid with--and with edges of--steel. The designs etched across it were reminiscent of curling flames, but it was unenchanted, as were the four coins scattered around it.

Wyrm would find a single coin, but it was half-embedded in a pile of ash, in which she'd also find what had once been a cuff or collar. It would easily clasp to her neck, and was a darkened steel with spikes, but one enchanted with Charm. Instead of helping her to charm allies, though, the enchant simply made others view the object positively. So she might be seen, at least, as very stylish. It was engraved with dark streaks of brown agate, curling and artistic, but with no real motif to it.

Players may add the Coins found to their characters' accounts. Those who received Enchanted items may post in Update Me to have simple icons added to their Enchanted Items profile field, if they wish.

Characters may exit at will. After posting their exit, they may a) post in Magicka Market for the thread claim, b) add their loot to their inventory, and c) post in Update Me for a soon-to-be-released achievement!

Those who did not post this round must make up for any missed rounds before their loot search/exit/claim. This should be GM-tagged for, as this thread will no longer be checked otherwise! Other wings of the dungeon will be completed in the coming days!

Vocal cords betrayed the pain just as much as the obvious superficial damage and tears brimming in eyes. Were Fahl capable of a significantly larger range of expression, no doubt a brow would've risen in response to the strained reassurance heard. The elder of the two and having been on the receiving end of more than a few self-inflicted burns over cycles of magical practice, it required a level of cluelessness he was incapable of possessing to fully ignore the signs of injury. Seeing as Wyrm remained speaking instead of screeching agonized incoherence, though, he remained silent on the issue. After all, growing accustomed to minor suffering was a necessity should she decide to develop her fiery talents further.

That, and the mere thought of pursuing the topic caused his raw throat to throb. No reason to announce thoughts aloud when a situation could be resolved without them.

A certain morbidity couldn't help but be found while picking through the belongings of less successful adventurers. Although most evidence of their extinguished lives was mere ash and charred bone and the occasional shiny rock, an inevitable grimness settled upon the task, evident in narrowed eyes and hunched shoulders. Skepticism reflected in a murky gaze once he managed discovering the gleam of a helmet amongst less desirable scorched items. The good condition indicated this hadn't been the source of the previous owner's downfall, yet Fahl couldn't resist questioning the quality. Had other similar pieces existed and been reduced to puddles of molten metal by that enraged golem?

Despite misgivings, claws grasped the protective piece and tested its fit: imperfect, but snug enough to resist a punch knocking it loose. He turned then to his niece, head tilted inquisitively, both modeling the helmet and curious as to what she might've salvaged.

A lucky find, he concluded, seeing the collar. While his armor won in terms of practicality, that certainly won any contest revolving around stylishness. Surely, if she wished to make a big impression, wearing such a fashionable thing would guarantee it. Truly loot worthy of Dragon's spawn.

"Nice," he remarked, teeth gritted against fresh soreness from expressing himself. Steeled against another hot swell of damaged soft tissue, he jerked his head toward the open tunnel and croaked out another word. "Home."

His intention had been a question, not a demand. Too bad he'd neither the energy or strength to add the necessary inflection.