A Wizard Did It

Apparently, the Progressive Arcanists have been hearing odd reports from one of their members about a 'wizard who's grown dangerously bored and potentially mad'. There's nothing quite like a mentally deteriorating magus.

This is why you've been sent to countryside to investigate their 'mad projects'. Strange squealing sounds have been heard along with maniacal cackling, or at least that's what the wizard's former apprentice says when he tried to deliver some supplies to him.

You now are standing on the edge of a field in which a large, and old, white country estate sits. Wizards do occasionally ge4t rich, too, and Midgud the Magnanimous was no exception.

Did someone say dangerously insane? Well when asked for a suggestion the local Artificer board knew exactly whom to volunteer for the mission. The small Gnome with his tools, equipment and weapons scattered over his leather coveralls suited body hums.

"Soon!" Disaster states. "I will test my mind against the arcane powers of this wizard person." Small arms crossing his chest. "Of course the guild saw fit to ask the greatest Gnomeish Inventor to be apart of this expedition of intellect. It was also kind of them to make sure I named my benefactor and next of kin. To avoid having to worry about that when I'm more famous."

Zeke stays to the back of the group, the blue-scaled sith seems een more reserved than he usually is, and thus hasn't said anything just yet, but he seems to grow more and more cautiously interested in what's going on as time passes. After all, mad mages do tend to spell badly for sith-makar for various (some obvious) reasons. All the more reason too to stay in the back of the group and listen to what is being said. Zeke keeps his cowl pulled far down, but it can do nothing to hide his obviously sith features. It's the tail really. One just can /not/ hide a long blue-scalled tail. At least not with merely a cloak.

Toha looks at the gnomish artificer for a moment after his shpiel, but thinks better of it and nods, "We'll go with that." She's traded her Earthbreaker for an ornate glaive, and a vaguely bow-like contrivance of steel is slung over her shoulder, with a quiver swinging from a couple of chains at her waist. She's been assured by her trainers she's rather qualified to hunt wizards. She's just.... never been sicced on one, before.

In wanders Tirrin! The big Sith is casually leafing through a book, and really not paying attention to much else really.... She is however greatly enjoying the book... Tirr pausses, the absent minded Sith blinking a few times and looking around "Sooo what is it we're after?" She mutters and looks from the book to her surroundings and back to her books.... "Hmmmmm...."

And so enters Skribbles, brushing off some soot on her clothing as she readjusts her warhammer on her back. She looks at the group assembled so far, and has just missed Disaster's declaration of awesome-icity and so doesn't make a comment which would surely contradict it. "So, hunting some Wizards, huh? Can we just throw something heavy at them and make them try and pick it up? That should wear them out."

"Right, let us get started." The little Gnome starts towards the house. He begins reaching into various pouches and pockets on his outfit and begins to assemble some device. Bars, joints, a bell, a few gears. The device grows larger and larger as he walks on. Occasionally there's a clank, or a ding.

The golem tests the heft of the glaive again, then she looks toward Skribbles, "Probably faster f'we just beat the shit out of'm." A shrug, "Assumin' he really is doin something bad." A couple of paces go by and, "Yer about t'drop yer wrench."

Tirry yawns, and tilts her head as she watches folks "Why are we hunting wizards?" She asks curiously.... "Ummmm..... Oookay? Soo what? We have a wizard who's gone off the deep end?" Asks the curious Sith.

The approach to the house is uninterrupted and you're able to reach it with no prolbem. A knock on the door, well, there's no answer. In fact, the door is ajar. It's also held slightly open by a jar.

Right there, on the ground. So, hey, you can go right on in...

... IF YOU DARE.

cunning doors.

Skribbles looks at the golem and sighs, nodding her head, "Yeah, let's just beat the stuffing out of 'em." She looks at the Gnome as she passes him by, "You're about to drop a screwdriver." When they get to the door and she spies the jar, she raises an eyebrow a moment and says, "Aw, hell nah..."

At the door the small Gnome raises his device, and begins turning the crank. Slowly a slim mechanical arm extends outwards and prods the door to open fully. Then glancing down at his side Disaster blinks a few times at Skribbles then turns back to his device. Shifting his hands he begins winding a crank slowly and a long spool of thread draws tight until a small widget at the end of the entire device swings once and hits the bell which ring-rings. "Hello?" The Gnome offers, rewinding the device once more until it rings again. "Delivery of Genius here."

Toha shrugs, "No need if he ain't doin' anything wrong. Can't kill a man without bein' sure y'ought to." Well, you -can-, but she personally tries not to overindulge in such impulses. The Code, and all. She eyes the door, then visibly tracks the Gnome's little doodad as it does it's thing. Hmm.

Skribbles looks at the Golem and leans in, "I love how he introduces me...it's touching."

Tirr is well, she's confused... "Sooo what? We're going to attack this mad wizard? NO talking to him? What are we doing?" she asks curiously.... "I think maybe we should try and talk to em first?"

"Nnnn!" Disaster makes a noise as he looks back and up at the others. "What is wrong with you?" Then he lowers his device and uses it to poke the jar that had been holding the door open. "Thankfully I came prepared with the LongRangeTouchThingThatRingsMarkThree, the mark four will also have a light. I think the five will play music. Because if you're going to crank it to extend it, may as well play a tune to let you know how close you are to maximum or minimum extension."

Toha gives a little chuckle at that and nods to Skrib, then looks back to the sith, "W'could try talking to him. He could be a nice guy, isn't that what magnanimous means? He could jus' be drinkin too much stay-up juice an' not sleepin' enough." Another shrug, "People get wierd when they don't sleep, I noticed."

The interior is quiet. There's no immediate response, of course, and instead it's quite dusty. You can see a singular set of footprints leading deeper into the home, deeper down a hallway.

Must belong to the apprentice in question.

Skribbles knocks on the door and looks inside, "Yoohoo...Gobbo entering your house, don't shoot on sight. Hello?" She shrugs and takes another step inside, "I'm not here to burn your house down, promise...left those tools back home. Hellooooo?"

There's no response to Skribbles' call.

Bending down to pick up the jar, Disaster peers around and puts it under his left arm as he carefully disassembled the long distance device. Then he pulls out another set of objects with a leather strap. Once he manages to put that together he fixes the strap to his forehead and taps the object at its center. A softly glowing light soon begins to spill forth, turning the Gnome's forehead into an artificial torch. A few mirrors set within it beams some of the light forward. "Dirty." The little Gnome announces then strides in following the foot prints.

Tirry blinks and tilts her head curiously.. "Ummm, fweee, I'm lost..." She mutters and rubs at the back of her neck... "Sooooooo.... Yup, I'll just stand back here and watch I think..." Well this is Tirry, she easily gets lost on things... Then as the Gobbo knocks, Tirr tilts her head to the right...

There is little to be done but to follow in the wake of the others. There's been no sign of anyone yet save for his companions and the footprints which tell someone like him who knows nothing of tracking very little indeed. They could have been left at any point in time by anyone. Zeke keeps a sharp look out for anything coming up from behind them, assuming this duty naturally because he is bringing up the rear.

Well, they didn't explode. Toha takes that as a positive and begins to move in after the gnome's tested the door for pressure based traps, tapping along with the butt of her glaive as a much more appropriate walking stick than her usual issue. "Been a while since someone cleaned... but, shouldn't there be signs of critters comin' in to see what kinda goodies there are? Don't animals do that if you leave the door open for a while?"

Skribbles continues walking in, "Watch out for traps and....wizardly stuff." She wiggles her fingers when she says that. She looks back at Toha and shrugs, "He could be invisible for all I know, I mean, this could be an illlllluuuuuussssiiooooon...muahahaha..."

GAME: Zeke rolls perception: (7)+2: 9
GAME: Skribbles rolls perception: (18)+10: 28
GAME: Disaster rolls perception: (13)+2: 15
GAME: Toha rolls perception: (15)+6: 21

Little effort is required when sharp goblin eyes in the dark are able to pick out the trails in the dust to follow. With Toha's assistance, you soon find yourself at that worst enemy once again.

THE DOOR. Once open it leads down a flight of steps down to the basement, though the smell of ozone becomes more evident here, alongside a tingle that, if you have them to react, raises the hackles on the back of one's neck.

"Ooh, this feels familiar!" The little Gnome says and happily trundles down the steps. Bringing a pair of goggles over his eyes and tugging on a pair of gloves. "Time to compare notes!" There's a pause. "At least one this, not on cleaning. No, not cleaning."

GAME: Tirrynelth rolls perception: (7)+6: 13

Skribbles is a lady, and doesn't have hair on the back of her neck because she shaves them. Still, the goosebumps pop up on the back of her neck and she watches the Gnome walk down. "Anyone got a sauce that goes nicely with roasted Gnome? I hear they taste like crab."

Tirry blinks a bit... "Interesting... Ummm anyone detect a slightly electric atmosphere?" She asks curiously,a nd rubs at the back of her neck... Tirry doesn't have hair, but she does have a bony ridge down her neck and spine, that goes up some... It works like hackles right? She blinks a bit and sighs. "Crazy inadvertent physical reactions." She mutters, voice prim, proper, quite pithy...

Toha doesn't smell anything as such, though the more 'energetic' air does give her a hint that something's up. She looks to the Gnome and says, "Let me go in first, I'm probably easier to repair." That said, she changes the grip on the glaive to something more business oriented, "I do." in response to the Sith's query. The Goblin's she leaves alone, because the mystery of that whole 'taste' thing.

Down you go, then, passing into the cellar and then another set of stairs leading deeper. Then you hear it: a cackle.

You reach the bottom of the second flight and see an empty room with a single door on the other end of the room. Lights flash from under that door.

Skribbles oooo's and nods a bit, quietly saying, "Nice cackle...it's all in the pitch." She draws her warhammer and asks, "Who wants to go into the scary room with the lightning first?" She looks at the others for a moment, wondering who is that daring.

"I can repair you if need be!" Disaster informs Toha. "Perhaps improvements, have you considered the adding of utensils?" Then the little Gnome snorts. "Of course I shall go first, I think have the most experience with this sort of situation. Now, if you'll excuse me, let the master handle this. I shall endeavor to elucidate this enervating emergent electrical expression." Then the little Gnome heads on over towards the door and reaches up to open it, heedless of the flashing lights.

Another cackle sounds after Disaster speaks.

"Yes! Yes! SUCCESS! AT LAST!"

There's a squeal on the other side of the door -- a monstrous one, actually. It's the only description that's apt.

Moreover, it sounds like a pig.

Zeke stares at the door with more than a little trepidation. Particularly given the lightning and pig-squealing involved. He hefts his staff in his and uncomfortably. "Ssssir? Would you come out sssir?" The question is cautious, but spoken loudly enough to be heard even from where Zeke is. Which is to say quite loudly for the sith whom up until this point has been quite silent.

"No alterations." Toha replies, quite firmly, getting ready to shoulder her way through the door when the gnome gets off to the races. Ok, if it means that much, she'll let him have it. A quick glance to the others and she moves between Disaster and the others, just in case.

Skribbles looks at Toha and stands behind him, "You better be as tough as you look. This should be interesting...or it could be nothing and then I just wore my best armor for nothing." She mutters something about swamp butt underneath this thing. "Go get 'em, Dizzy! You got this!" She gives him a thumbs up and a reassuring wink.

Late. So late. And on his first official adventure in the city. Way to make an impression. Bildor comes down the stairs, shield in one hand and axe in the other. Armor tinking as he grumbles the entire way down. To himself but loud enough to hear. "Not much call for a lancer on a stair case. ANd common soldier could be sent. ANd the directions to get here...don't get me started." Putting the blame for being late on someone else. WHen he finally makes it to the others he stops and stares at the door, pointing his axe at it. "So, leave any for me?"

So. The door is opened.

Yanked open.

"Wait, what's.. who's there? No! Look out! You've let them loose!"

That's when something comes charging out of the room towrads Disaster. It's a boar.

A big boar.

Except with an owl's beak and face and feathers oin its body.

It's...

...It's an owlboar.

One such giant boar ran out of the room -- a laboratory of some kind obviously that is section off with what appears to be magical barricades and a goblin that sits behind them with a long beard and qa pointy hat because of COURSE he has a long beard and a pointy hat.

Of course.

Two more are standing up from where they were laying down.

"Damnation! Well, I was going to let them out that way anyway," says the elder-gob.

GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+8: (9)+8: 17
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 2d6+5: (5)+5: 10

WIth its great tusks and beak, the 'owlboar' looks ridiculous.

That said, looking ridiculous doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. It charges straight into Diaster, all but knocking him aside and leaving gashes across his midsection in the process.

GAME: Disaster rolls 1d20+5: (13)+5: 18
GAME: Disaster rolls 1d6+3: (1)+3: 4

"It's chicken-ham! Now you never need to choose what to eat for breakfast, ingenious! How did you get them to ma... aaaah!" The little Gnome is brutally tossed to the side by the charging Owlboar. His form bounces twice across the floor before it rolls to it's side hefting the large deathray he usually carries on his back. Thankfully the bouncing of his body managed to pump the action and the blue crystal at the end glows to life. Then a bolt of electrical energy shears off barely striking the beast. "Help, I'm being attacked by breakfast!"

GAME: Bildor rolls weapon 1: (4)+0: 4
GAME: Bildor rolls inv1: (8)+inv1: 8
GAME: Bildor rolls 1d20+5: (11)+5: 16
GAME: Skribbles rolls weapon 11: (17)+0: 17
GAME: Skribbles rolls 1d8: (1): 1

Bildor hefts his shield up and moves forward. "Pull back lad. I'll get the gap. YOu let 'em have it!" He trudges his way past Zeke to the owlboar and opens the defense of his shield for a moment to swing his axe downward hard. Chunk. It goes wide and slams into the floor. His shield is pulled back in place as he recovers from the swing. "I'm doing just fantastic today."

Skribbles charges in with Bildor, hollering at the top of her lungs, "Reos smite thee!" She swings her hammer and it glances off the hindquarters of one of the owlboars, doing almost nothing. Skribbles blinks and looks up, "Hey, Reos! Let's pay attention here! Your favorite Priestess under attack!"

GAME: Toha RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 8 temporary HP
GAME: Toha rolls weapon21: (15)+10: 25
GAME: Toha rolls 1d10+7: (3)+7: 10

With the sudden onset of beaky-pig barreling claiming right of way on Disaster, Toha is momentarily taken aback and her reflexive recoil becomes a measured step into a better engagement range for her glaive, glowing silver mist starting to seep from her seams. As her grip shifts on the shaft of her weapon, the mist coalesces into a strage, intricate weave of lines for a scant instant before a bright ruby piprick of light flares from within her eyeslit and she hatefully arcs the blade of her weapon along the upper-side of the creature. Is she claiming some fatback, or is she achin' fer some bacon?

GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d8+5: (2)+5: 7
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+9: (20)+9: 29
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+9: (4)+9: 13
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d10+7: (3)+7: 10

One of the other of the three boars tries to escape the room, but they're sort of pack in the middle as the wizard, the goblin wizard, screams at them, "No! Not like that! GEt back in there and stop attacking people!"

One manages to get out, but is struck by Toha's glaive, wounded in its flank. It squeals loudly.

GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+7: (18)+7: 25
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 2d6+5: (8)+5: 13

Turning on Zeke, since he's nearby, the initial owlboar thrashes at him, it's beak slashing across his leg and leaving a long, bloody gash there.

GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+5: (2)+5: 7
GAME: Bildor rolls weapon1: (11)+5: 16
GAME: Bildor rolls 1d10+3: (1)+3: 4

Bildor lowers his shield just a bit, eyes flitting around to keep track of the owlboars as they move. "Keep it close. Protect the flanks." To emphasize it, he swings his axe in a wide arc to chop into the owlboars flank. See, they need protected.

GAME: Skribbles rolls weapon 11: (12)+0: 12
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+10: (16)+10: 26
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d10+7: (7)+7: 14
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+4: (15)+4: 19
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 4d6: (14): 14

A blast of fire lances out from Tirry's hands, scorching the first of the owlboar with it. Bacon, anyone?

-TBC