S60: The Great Horn Heist

The ground erupts with teeth directly under Krom. A muscular purple tongue wraps around his leg, holding him close as the maw bites down. Krom growls in pain and retaliates with a swing of his makeshift barbell. Dorus, seeing his brother in arms in danger, sends a wave of prayer over the group healing them and then drops to the ground. His thick leathery skin begins to sprout thick brown fur as his goddess allows him to change form into a great brown bear. From the back Alora lets loose a flurry of magic missiles peppering her foe with force damage and then runs toward the elevator to get a little distance from her foe. Nom unleashes a flurry of blows as its golden coin-like scales scatter unveiling a brackish black liquid underneath. Mokon, being a pacifist at heart, unleashes gauntlet punches across the surface of the beast with a satisfying thud. Krom comes in for an attack unleashing a barbaric roar. The gold covered beast's small red eyes go wide with fear. Krom swings. A plate from his barbell goes flying across the room skittering through heaps of gold -- must be performance anxiety in front of this new group. (Grizzly Dorus chuckles for a moment forgetting they were in a battle.) Annoyed, Krom flips his weapon and connects the opposite side. Wide-eyed and in fear it had bitten off more than it could chew, the horde mimic begins to gurgle as it belches a spray of aciding mist across the group. Gold begins to corrode and metal walls begin to pit. Mokon, Dorus, Krom, and Alora feel acid burning their skin as Krom and Alora also are blinded by the mist.

Alora begins to fumble around blindly in the elevator as her friends continue to attack the sentient pile of riches. She feels the metal grating in the wall of the elevator, then an electrical panel, then her fingers roll over six protruding buttons. She presses one and hears the scream of scraping iron and feels the ground quake with a metallic clang. Her vision clears as Alora realizes the elevator has been completely surrounded by thick metal walls. No light from the outside room penetrates the darkness.

Claws, steel, and fists continue to pelt the flailing monster as another belch of acid spews forth, sizzling the skin of Dorus, Krom, and Mokon. Nom is attacking from the creature's back, safely away from its forward attack. Nom unleashes another group of piercing strikes this time cutting the creature deeply and noticing thick green liquid pulse outward through the hole she had created -- the surrounding gold and gems begin to steam and corrode.

Alora, knowing she is of little help to her friends trapped inside a large metal box, creates a rift in space teleporting herself safely beside Nom. She looks up to see a Grizzlodon revert back to Dorus’ true form. Dorus raises his hands high into the air where a ethereal spiritual hammer aparates and comes crashing down on the horde mimic. It’s tongue spasms then becomes lifeless as it’s body turns into a pile of acidic goo and begins to slowly melt through the treasure where it rests.

The air is thin -- too thin. Our heroes feel exhausted, unable to catch their breath. 

Mokon approaches the steel walls of the elevator looking for any sort of weakness or gaps to exploit -- he finds none. Dorus approaches the domed altar where the ancient horn once rested. He rests the horn on the altar once more covering it with the reflective dome hoping the elevator trap will open. Nothing happens, the room remains quiet and airless. Nom, watching the gold and metal walls of the room sizzle with mimic acid has an idea. She conjures her transparent magical hand, scoops up a handful of the mimic devolved carcass and splashes it against the front facing metal wall of the elevator. The acidic remains begin to sizzle and corrode the metal almost instantly. Seeing her plan is working she continues to hand over hand acid as her friends investigate the room. The metal is thick and strong. It takes some time for the acid to burrow a hole, but with time it does. Still too small to crawl through, Nom teleports into the elevator. Looking around she sees all sides are covered. Looking upward she begins once more. The crew becomes increasingly more tired as their eyes begin to blur due to lack of oxygen in the air. Nom’s movements are beginning to slow trying to maintain concentration on her magic hand. When all seems to be lost Nom hears a hiss as the slightest amount of fresh air begins to spill into the room through a pinprick sized hole. With as much excitement as she can muster she does her best to yell to her friends and continues. A few more handfuls of mimic acid open the hole larger. The SOP crowd around the head sized hold and breath deeply.

Being able to breathe once more, time is finally on their side. Nom monotonously continues her plight until two holes, one in the metal of the front wall and one in the ceiling, are large enough for even a loxodon to enter. 

Krom and Nom decide a withdrawal from Jarnigol Holding is in order. (Perhaps for all their hard work and trouble from breaking into the vault and stealing a large diamond and artifact.) They each fill three large sacks with gold coins. A heavy weight and a hefty sum. 

The group climbs upward until they are all standing on the top of the elevator, above them, hundreds of feet worth of elevator shaft. 

Alora is the first to notice something seems off as the others soon follow suit. They can feel their magic abilities and items wavering, going from magical to mundane and then back once more at unknown intervals. Not ideal for those who rely on magic.

Time to climb.

The shaft is mostly metallic with random areas of corrosion.Wide metallic grates pepper the shaft in a seemingly haphazard design, luckily many are strong enough to use as a makeshift ladder. Pipes snake in and out of the shaft walls that belch and hiss bluish mist that burn the skin. Shallow thin structures protrude beneath sections of mechanical panels full of cogs and gears that are currently not moving. Higher up the shaft flashes of fire bellow outward into the shaft. This should be fun.

Working as if a well oiled machine Dorus and Krom lead the way using their strength to lead the group upward. Dorus finds he is able to now call forth a magical whip of thorns he can use as a sort of grappling hook to pull himself to just-out-of-reach areas. Luckily, he can cast it repeatedly as it fails, due to the pulsating anti-magic field. They continue to climb, helping one another make the vertical climb. As they climb through the level six room. It remains just as they remember, full of tepid green water with a large open pipe extending upward. This is nothing that they haven't already seen, they continue upward deftly avoiding dangerous areas. 

The shaft opens to floor five. A floor already seen by a couple of our adventurers. This room is meticulously crafted with rows of identical miniature gold plated vaults with large numbered dials. Everyone but Nom continue to climb. They ask to follow suit, but Nom’s greed bubbles to the surface once more. Hefting the three large bags of gold coins and multiple diamonds tucked into her armor she enters. Kneeling beside a random vault she pulls up her sleeve, leans her ear against the cold metal, and turns the dial. As she does a mild wind blows against her skin. She continues to turn the dial, unfortunately her lockpicking skills are not up to the task. The door does not open. She huffs and in a last attempt for additional riches she pulls on each vault door until she happens upon one that was not closed fully. The door glides open. Inside a single piece of paper receipt reading “Mayor Phillip Flounderweasel 200,000 gold”. She slides the paper into her pocket and continues upward with the group.

Floor four is new to the group. Inside stands a 10-foot-tall golden statue of a horned demon. Its outstretched arms hold a golden plate on which rests an ornate and elegant necklace. The necklace is multicolored with platinum and gold, inset into the necklace are rubies, sapphires, and black onyx. It is one of the most expensive necklaces the group has ever seen. It is clearly worth a fortune. The room is otherwise empty save for a section of a golden statue’s torso and head. Nom’s eyes grow wide as she enters the room. The group begs Nom to come with them and to leave the ominous necklace alone. Nom begins to leave, but then she realizes just how amazing this necklace appears to be. She investigates as her group pleads. Summoning her mage hand once more she enters the elevator shaft and, from a distance, picks up the necklace. She closes one eye expecting a trap to be triggered. Nothing happens. She summons her magic hand forward instantly adorning the beautiful piece and continues to climb.

Skillfully upward the team moves. They reach level three. In the room, sit rows of wooden chests. This time, the entire team opts to continue forward, even Nom already heavy with riches. Nom notices a slight itch on her neck and upper chest.

As the group moves upward they notice areas of fire spouting from the walls are becoming more apparent. Still, the group ascends with incredible efficiency. As they get closer to level two they see a thick green mist flowing from the room into the elevator shaft. Even as it wisps by Dorus he feels it burn his skin. With a blast from his trunk he blows the thicker areas of acidic mist away, diffusing the intensity into less saturated areas of the air. Upward the SOP climb avoiding the level two room entirely.

As they climb Nom begins to notice her right arm is beginning to feel stiff as is her left leg. She remains silent to the group. Inch by inch the group moves toward the ground floor level. They are so close, they can actually see the end of their trek. Hundreds of feet of open elevator shaft below.

Nom yells to the group that there is a problem. As they look down they see Nom looking up at them with a guilty look on her face and a golden hand grasping a metal grate. She informs her friends that she can’t let go. Each of her teammates want to tell her exactly what is on their mind knowing it was just a matter of time before she Nomed something up again, but they don’t. Dorus quickly jumps into action sliding downward and grabbing Nom with his trunk. Nom is heavy, much heavier than she should be. He pulls, ripping the grate off the wall along with Nom. The pipe he holds, already strained with his heavy loxodon body, begins to groan. 

Krom jumps into action moving downward. He grabs Nom tightly around the torso. She feels more solid than she perhaps should. Krom's face grazes the necklace as he feels his whiskers and fur harden. He pulls his face away as, from his peripheral vision, he sees a golden hue. 

Dorus and Mokon wonder if removing the necklace is the way to go. Dorus pulls out a piece of cloth trying to move the necklace away from Noms body, the cloth instantly fades to gold as Dorus fingers begin to tingle. He releases the necklace -- the tips of his fingers market with golden tips. Mokon takes it a step further grabbing Nom by the leg he begins to shake her body upside down hoping to dislodge the necklace, instead he dislodges all her riches. Nom watches as three large bags full of coins as well as six large diamonds fall from her person into the dark elevator shaft. She hears the bags of gold break open and the diamonds clank and clatter as they hit the top of the elevator. She looks up at Mokon with rage, more concerned about the gold she lost than the gold she is becoming. 

What does the team do? They quickly discuss options. Either they continue upward or try to get back to the statue room to undo this curse. They choose the latter as Dorus and Krom slowly begin to move downward with a somewhat helpless Nom in tow doing their best to avoid touching the clearly dangerous necklace. Krom releases his grip on Nom for only a moment to get a better vantage point, just then the pipe Dorus holds breaks loose as Nom and Dorus begin to fall. 

Down, down, down they go. Nom’s joints and muscles are no longer able to move. Her body is a beautiful shining gold, but useless to help. Only one hand and pieces of her face remain. Dorus tries desperately to save himself and Nom from plummeting too far downward, his arms flaily wilding -- trying to find purchase anything his hands touch. Their bodies bang against metal, pipe, and stone. They are falling too fast and out of control. Pieces of the elevator shaft break and bend to their falling weight. Through acid mist they fall as it burns their skin, fires scorch their bodies as they bounce from one obstruction to the next. Dorus can feel his bones bend and skin tear as his body is beaten by inanimate objects.

Krom, adeptly follows downward, trying to catch up to his friend Dorus. The others follow closely behind.

Finally Dorus and Nom come to an abrupt stop. Dorus bones crunch at the impact as they land squarely on a small ledge in front of a room with a large demon statue. Without hesitation Dorus rolls into the room still clinging tightly to Nom with his trunk. No longer falling, Nom and Dorus take it as a small win. Krom busts through the open door ready to help.

Dorus stands looking down at a golden Nom -- only a single eye remains as it looks frantically at Dorus and Krom for help. They first try positioning Nom necklace on top of the golden plate the smiling demon statue is holding. (Was that demon smiling before? They do not remember.) Nothing happens. Dorus raises his hammer high into the air and smashes the necklace with all his might. A flash of bright light explodes on impact. Dorus' hammer has become completely golden as a chunk of the demon’s plate crashes to the floor. Nom appears unaffected. Krom follows suit smashing Nom’s necklace with his barbell, another flash and Krom’s improvised weapon is turned to gold.

Mokon and Alora enter the room to see Krom and Dorus holding mighty golden weapons as a golden Nom rests haphazardly against a smiling demon statue with her ornate necklace resting on a broken plate in the demon statues hand. Nom’s single non-golden eye darts around the room in fear and her body has become more valuable than all the gold she has ever possessed.