The Challenge Pit Remix

This job was farmed out through the Adventurer's Guild, but it had originated from Better Homes and Dungeons. The mission is clear head to the dungeon and explore it until you reach its end. However long that takes, whatever dangers you face. Which is how you find yourself at the edge of a massive pit in the ground. It is perfectly circular in nature with a long staircase rounding the edge of it. You traverse this stairway into the strange hole in the ground, keeping an eye open for anything unusual. Aside from the yawning darkness stretching off into a void... so far you've found nothing unusual. That is... until you find a door in the middle of the stairway. You could with some effort bypass the door, or you could step through the doorway itself.

"I am not being liking the idea of moving past this. We could be dealing with heavy enemy forces and others could be being coming out of this door in our rear." suggests Lysa. "I am being suggesting that we investigate."

Morgan looks at the flyer and says "No sewers, I am all game."

"It's a good idea to clear our way through this." Sorscha says as she walks her way forward....and she's flanked by a rather large white and gold striped tiger. "Lemme know if you smell anything, Aurora."

Locks his helmet into place, the gruesome skull like design even having protrusions to cover his sizeable tusks. It's dull almost black metallic nature is dulled so not to glint or shine. It's numerous pyramid like spikes, from his shoulders to knees are matched well by the large shield belted to his left arm. "Oy, dats wot I likes ta hear! Massive enemy forces com'in for me rear. Eh? I got more ass den dey got blades." He thumps his heavy armored fist against his left shoulder. "Bring'em on, bring'em all on. KOR is already screaming for war. For violence! He's yelling for us ta get on wit da kill'n." The booming laugh that follows rattles through the armor and has a hungry growl to it.

"Pfft. Sewers are sewers. No big deal," replies Nadara. She's definitely ready to get on the move on as she stares down at the large pit. "..so this interesting.."

And then looking at the others, aiming to follow them as they get down towards the middle. The door. A frigging door.

"Of /course/ it's a door," she grumbles.

Sorscha says, "Enh...the first door isn't all that bad. Baz? you open it since you're so eager to get in."

Selerik is distracted checking off a line in a journal he has with him, nodding a bit to himself as he does. "Very good, very good." He glances around the area, then making a small note in the margin before tucking the journal away with a bright smile to the others present. "Wonderful, wonderful. I'm not sure I've met..." He sweeps his eyes across the others assembled failing to see a familiar face. "...Everyone, but I look forward to this exciting and potentially fatal excursion together. Selerik Delent, traveling teacher and mentor to future adventurers. I'll do my best to document your heroics." He makes a little wave with one hand. "After the fact. Writing while in the process tends to be sloppy and hard to read later." He doesn't appear to have a weapon on him, the closest thing a polished wooden buckler on one arm that has a spot for an ink vial to rest in one corner. "Oh, are we not knocking?" He glances over to Baz, then to Sorcha. "How exciting."

Morgan looks to the door and sees if its magical and such.

GAME: Morgan casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 10 DC: 17

"Bah. Rioght." The big Ork trundles forward, hooking his battleaxe at his waist he raises up both hands to open the door.

Morgan keeps looking at the door "Mister Baz its magical."

Sword in hand, Lysa steps aside to allow the enthusiastic orc to approach. She holds her tongue at his comments as this is not the time to correct his morality imbalance.

The door opens easily, and as you file in you immediately notice that the space is much larger than it should be considering it should only lead further down the path. Instead it opens into a huge room with a mirror dividing it in half. You know that it's a mirror not because you can see the reflection of it, but because you can see yourselves reflected; walking toward yourself.

In first the Ork unhooks his axe once more and peers around. Then snorts and shifts his weight to wait for the others. He stares at the mirror, then slowly beings to make slight adjustments to his armor. Just getting this plate and that spike pointing in just the right way.

Morgan winces when she sees the mirror. "Seen something like that in Zeheirs places, but heard stories that mirrors like that can be a portal to some place."

Following in behind Baz, but ahead of most of the others, Lysa catches sight of her own reflection. She narrows her eyes and remarks, "I am not being trusting this." She steps to one side and begins to concentrate in perceiving the darkness of the world in all of its myriad ways.

"..oi! My hair's a MESS!" Nadara immediately sees herself in the reflection and proceeds to start twisting her hair around her fingers anxiously. "Yargh. Wait.." She squints at the mirror a bit more.

GAME: Morgan rolls spellcraft: (11)+26: 37

It's when Morgan's eyes begin to glow with spellcraft that you notice something is wrong. You can hear her voice echoing as though someone else is speaking with her. Only the words are warped and backwards. Which is when you realize that your reflection is walking toward you. That it isn't stopping to fiddle with this or that. It's moving toward you with deadly purpose…

Sorscha is drawing her sword. Yes...this looks very familiar....and even her tiger is rumbling in a dangerous way. "Draw your weapons....these mirrors make copies of us."

The mirror image of Morgan finishes the spell that it is weaving. It's eyes glow as they rake over the party.

GAME: Morgan casts Magic Missile. Caster Level: 10 DC: 18
GAME: Morgan rolls 3d4+3: (7)+3: 10

Morgan stops figuring out what the mirror is and she sends three bolts of energy at it strangely cracks it. "Well this mirror makes doubles of us."

GAME: Nadara casts Blessing of Fervor. Caster Level: 9 DC: 19

"..hey, no you don't," shouts Nadara after she sees the mirror Nadara mirroring the very effective magic she just used. "NO FAIR COPYING ME!" She reaches down to draw her dragonspitter. "RADA! THIS ISN'T FAIR YOU KNOW!"

As Nadara cast's her spell the mirror image of her also cast's a spell, it's words warped and wrong but still effective. It draws it's weapon in perfect imagery of her, even mimicking her war cry with its own discordant cry.

GAME: Baz da Ork casts Shield of Faith. Caster Level: 5 DC: 14
GAME: Sorscha rolls weapon1: (9)+10: 19
GAME: Sorscha rolls 1d20+6: (9)+6: 15
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+10: (10)+10: 20
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+6: (12)+6: 18

Selerik lifts his hand to wave with a friendly smile for his murder reflection. "Hello! You are looking quite handsome." He does that corny two finger point and wink gesture, only the lack of sticking out his thumbs keeps it from being finger guns. His lack of apparent care of concern is, oddly, uplifting. The sort of impact only a bard could have on a party's morale. "But we're not here to fix our hair. Well, most of us." He does an over-exaggerated wave that contains some clearly magical gestures. "Bye!"

GAME: Selerik casts Dispel Magic. Caster Level: 9 DC: 20

Sorscha, believing herself to be one major threat, runs her way forward to attack herself. her blade clangs off of her mirror shield, while her mirror blade clangs off of her shield. Aurora is intercepted by her mirror counterpart too. "Take out the casters first....."

The mirror shudders and ripples outwards, affected somehow by the spell cast on it. What the exact effect is though, isn't immediately apparent. What is apparent is the little door that appears somewhat in the middle of the mirror.

Meanwhile the image of Baz seems to cast its own spell…

Similarly the image of Selerik cast's a spell that seems to have no obvious effect.

GAME: Lysa rolls melee+7: (2)+8+7: 17
GAME: Lysa rolls 1d10+12: (9)+12: 21

Sword already in hand, Lysa says, "We should be being destroying the mirror, or focusing on one opponent at a time." and she eyes the group of mirror duplicates before turning to rush at the duplicate Morgan... her sword coming down in a powerful stroke that could bisect a normal person.

GAME: Aftershock rolls 3d4+3: (4)+3: 7
GAME: Morgan casts Greater Invisibility. Caster Level: 10 DC: 21

Morgan says as she stays in the area she is at "Thought so Lysa stay on me, matter fact everyone attack my twin." She then says a few arcane words and poofs from sight.

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+13: (6)+13: 19

And then she rushes for the door, drawing a shot from her duplicate that she nimbly dodges under. She reaches the door, yanks it open, and finds a stairwell on the other side. She glances towards her duplicate. Waiting to see what it now does, perhaps.

Rather than standing there and shooting at her as would have been wise, the mirror image chases after Nadara, following in her footsteps.

GAME: Sorscha rolls weapon1+2+1: (15)+10+2+1: 28
GAME: Sorscha rolls 1d8+3+2: (2)+3+2: 7
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+13: (7)+13: 20

Sorscha steadily backs away from her duplicate before she turns her sword towards Mirror Morgan. She makes a couple of cracks appear, but otherwise, doesn't do much damage. She wasn't meant for damage…

Selerik takes a moment to adjust his collar and adjust his hat so the headband beneath it is at a cocked angle. Then with legs carried by the unnatural speed that was gifted him by his compatriots spell he skips through the battle field with nary a concern. His double, hands as empty of weapons as his own, is offered a high five in passing. There appears to still be zero worry from the bard, giving some odd courage to the rest. "Just sheathe your blades and have a bit of courage, we'll be past this in a jiff." And on he goes through the door being held open by Nadara with a nod of thanks.

The mirror image of Selerik turns and hurries after Selerik, clearly bolstering its comrades in the same way that he is bolstering his.

As much as Lysa understands battle, she also understands objectives. She gestures to the door and says, "Sorscha, fall back. It will be being easier to defend a narrow front if they are being following." and she does that herself... moving that way and turning to threaten any enemies that approach said door. The bastard sword in her hands slowly waving back and forth as if to be ready to strike at any target that comes too close. "Be being coming Sorscha. I will be being covering."

The mirror image of Morgan suddenly vanishes in a murmur of weird twisted sounds.

GAME: Lysa rolls melee+5: (9)+8+5: 22
GAME: Lysa rolls 1d10+12: (4)+12: 16
GAME: Lysa rolls melee+5: (7)+8+5: 20
GAME: Lysa rolls 1d10+12: (5)+12: 17

The mirror image of Nadara breaks out of the room, forcing its way to her... and not carefully enough as it goes tumbling down the flight of stairs into the blackness.

Nadara observes as her mirror image duplicates her action and then goes tumbling down the steps.

"You know," she offers, "not quite what I had in mind? But I'll take it, you know? Thanks, Rada."

GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+13: (7)+13: 20

Sorscha, hearing all of the people telling her to retreat....she does so. She blocks a strike from her image as she covers her tiger...running out of the room.

Together you retreat out the door, slamming it shut with the copies still inside. You hear a few thumps against the door, and then silence. Now before you lies another set of stairs leading downwards... Goodness only knows what awaits you there.

"Hmm....maybe they weren't really threats unless we posed a threat to them. They just seemed to copy everything we did." Sorscha says as she pets her tiger.

"...whew. Okay. Let's go!" And with that Nadara is definitely ready to move down the stairs. "Makes me wish I hadn't used that blessing, but well..." She shrugs.

-TBC-