Portal Problems: Chapter 4

The next morning, the party got up, had a brief meal, and prepared to enter the laboratories where their objective would be found.

Nola told them there should be an entrance to the laboratories, which were below ground, near the stable.

“Sometimes we needed large equipment brought down, so we should be able to not only use the entrance ourselves, but take Tonka with us as well.” She said.

So the party began looking for the entrance.

It took almost an hour due to the damaged items cluttering the floor, but once they found it, One Free Man pulled the door open, and the party prepared to descend into the darkness.

Fortunately, the party was prepared, as Gorga cast a light cantrip on an unlit torch, which provided enough illumination for the party to keep going.

The stairs ended in a small room, and the party could see there were openings in all four directions.

Lim asked Nola, “Which way should we go?”

Nola answered, “I’m not sure. I spent most of my time in my own lab. I was trying to make a portal device you could carry with you, along with an assistant named Chell. I . . . don’t know if she got out.”

She turned to One Free Man, and asked, “Do you know?”

The Warforged shook his head.

“Well,” Lim said, “Nothing for it but to search.”

Suddenly, there was a large popping sound, and two forms fell out of a hole that had opened up in the ceiling, and the hole closed again as soon as the two hit the floor.
Nola shouted, “Chell!”

The larger of the two looked up and asked “Nola? What are you doing here?”

“Salvage mission” Nola responded, “What happened, and who’s your friend?”

“This is Sandy.” Chell said, and the small figure approached the group, revealing herself to be a fairy.

“She saved me when I ported out of here.” Chell continued.

“Well, Sandy, you have my thanks.” Nola replied, and then waved at the group saying, “This is the salvage team I’ve joined. Jade, Lim, Quest, Gorga, and Jillian. And you might remember the security guard, One Free Man the Warforged”

“Hello all” Chell said, “maybe I can help you?”

Nola told Chell of what they were looking for, and Chell said, “Well, the large portal is on this level, in the north east corner, if I remember rightly. But I’m not sure the best way to get there now, and there's no guarantee what you’re looking for will be there.”

“Well, it's a start.” Nola replied, ``Let's see if we can find a way.”

“Well, it may sound counter-intuitive, but I think we have to head west to start. As far as I know, that east passage just leads to a way down to the bottom level of the facility.”

“Well, ladies? Shall we follow Chell?” Nola asked the others.

“Beats just wandering around hoping to get lucky.” Jade replied, and the others nodded.
So the party, now with two extra members, headed west, to continue their hunt.