Balder's Gate 3 PSLs/Overflow

[smartass_captain]

Onward to adventure, whether you like it or not!

Comments

[bigwife]

"No sense in worrying about it before we find out what's going on," Karlach says, patting him on the shoulder a little too heavily, still more used to keeping company with demons and cambions. "No way to know what's going on in there til we get there. Wizards are weird. Well, you know." She winks at him, because it's only gentle teasing and she means no harm. 

"Huh!" She says in response to this revelation about Blurg and Omeluum. She's still not entirely convinced, but then again, he does have a point. Personally, neither had tried to kill them, and that had been good enough for her to trust them. She... may have a problem trusting too easily. "Oh, oh, look! Is that a back door?"

[smartass_captain]

At least she recalculates a bit when Jim nearly stumbles right off the pipe he's balanced on as she thuds against his shoulder. No one falls and that's the important thing. They can't lose the party's ranger and cartographer! Alchemist! Tactician! Provider of stuffed bears to Scratch and Hootsworth to play with! Everyone ELSE but James realizes just how much he does for the party. The ranger himself seems to think it's never enough.

"Fair point." About not worrying ahead of time that is. The bit about wizards has him pursing his lips in a subtle pout he doesn't even realize he's making until Karlach winks at him and startles him into flushing a little.

He's saved from putting his boot metaphorically in his own mouth by the tiefling pointing around the way they're shimmying to what very much Looks like a rear entrance to the tower. One much less obfuscated than any possible main entry.

"Sure seems like it. Give it a shot but carefully. If it's trapped we likely won't find out until we try to open it."

She can hop down over to it easier than he can, so he assumes she'll get there first while he's still carefully shimmying his way over and climbing down as opposed to Karlach's much more precise leaps.

"Doesn't look like there's anything vicious around, either. Almost seems like someone's nice little back garden."

[bigwife]

"Nothing's even trying to eat us yet," Karlach says cheerfully, and doesn't even have the sense to knock on wood. She's already trying the door, yanking with all her considerable strength. "No go. Back to square one - want me to whale on it, or are you gonna look for a smarty pants way in?" She's hoping she gets to break it, but she'll defer to the ranger's opinion.

[smartass_captain]

Karlach has her weapon at the ready before Jim even plucks his lockpick set out of a pouch tied to his waist. His hand stops at the flap, taking in her visible frustration and desire to Solve a problem using the tools at her disposal. As far as the horrors they've witnessed out here, some light property damage really isn't going to change much around here. He tries not to look guilty as he slips the pouch closed again.

Makes a dramatic gesture for her to help herself.

"Go on. I'll keep an ye out for trouble while you work."

[bigwife]

"Fuck yeah!" Karlach cries and does a little jig. She has her ax off her shoulder in an instant, excited to actually do something for the first time in a few hours. Puzzles and shit? Not her wheelhouse. But breaking shit? Oh, she's as good at that as she is breaking people. The first strike does little, but like loosening a tight jar, the first few blows make the following attacks easier.

Meanwhile...

"Fat lot of good this is doing. You're not going to get into a wizard's tower with mundane lock picking tools," Gale says, standing over Astarion's shoulder with his arms crossed.

"Certainly not with you yapping so that I can't concentrate," Astarion hisses back. "You threw some sparkles at it, it did nothing, now let me work."

[smartass_captain]

If they weren't attempting to make real tangible progress before more nasties come upon them the lock itself might be interesting all on its own. Something that defies the magical mind and dexterous fingers alike. Astarion's gift for seeing keenly even in the dark means he's better able to see the fine details he's manipulating even while it all blurs into one gloom to Gale.

There's been no word from Karlach or Jim in several minutes. Almost a quarter of an hour, now.

Inside...

"I've got to hand it to you. That did the trick." Jim covers his palm with his sleeve before clapping Karlach on the arm quickly as he's done many times before. It's become habit for them by now. Not enough physical contact, Jim knows, but it's all he can safely give and he does try. "What a weird contraption to have down in the bottom level." They've wandered inside to better get a look at what can only be described as some sort of generator or boiler set up in the middle of the floor.

"I wonder if the reason the front door isn't working is that it's tied to this contraption in some way. Maybe we should try to get it running?"

[bigwife]

Karlach preens like a happy dog, literally swaying her tail back and forth. "Sometimes, the answer's brute force," she replies with a shrug, circling the generator thing. It looks like it decidedly won't require brute force, which sounds like she's about to have a boring half hour or so.

"Maybe. I could run back and get the other two and bring them here, instead? One over each shoulder?" She's only kind of joking.

Work is Real Bad and the Blorbos continue to give me strength

[smartass_captain]

Karlach will hear the familiar distracted sound of a man with an artificer's brain elbows deep in their gears and machinery. James has found a spanner and gotten to work taking a faceplate off the machine so he can inspect its inner workings. Tracing cogs and gears and tubes this way and that to understand just What is trying to be achieved here.

"Mhm....Oh? Yeah they should probably come see this." Jim answers over his shoulder absently without really thinking too hard about what Karlach is suggesting. He taps at a particular pump gently with the edge of the spanner.

"You go to here. Which looks to be a feeder hooked up to a heat source. Which means..." He hears a faint fragile crumbling as his boot crushes a dried petal or two beneath him. He lifts his boot with a raised brow. "Sussur petals?" Tap, tap, tap goes the spanner against the metal. Jim's gaze sweeps over the equipment. It's all coated in a faint blue dust. Sussur smoke, or pollen? "They're burning the plant for fuel..." He murmurs. Stands bolt upright with a grin regardless of whether anyone else is still here at the second.

"I've got to run outside quick!" Excited, and far too loud if anything else is residing in the tower.