The Gavisoria Games (IC)

[Witchdoctor2012]

Darmok picks his equipment up and then looks at Vinto and Alywnn and says:
"Pleased to meet you Vinto and Orhlwoon."

(He says Alwynn's name with a teasing smirk in his face). He then answers Vinto's question:

"Come to think of it, that dragonborn did have a remarkable resemblance to our friend here. How is this possible? Is he some sort of demon? I knew he was a foul creature as soon as I laid eyes on him. But i agree with Maekrix, should I ever meet him again I will send him back to the hell he came from!"

Darmok grips his weapon and grits teeth in anger as he says this. He then says:

"Maekrix is also right I that we should make haste in pushing forward, the party that left me here went this way quite some time ago and has not traveled back in this direction as far as I know, which means one of three things: they have found the artifact and another way out, they are still in here looking for the artifact, or they have met their demise and thus saved me the trouble of sending them out of this world."

As Meakrix lights up the hallway Darmok squints his eyes trying to adjust to the new found brightness. When Vinto asks him if he had come to this place with anyone else he whispers back:

"No, I came on this journey alone...or so I thought until you came along. I recomend caution, I will not be made a fool twice in one day."

He then readies his weapon and shield as he continues cautiously down the hallway with the rest of the party.

[Jarian]

As you draw closer and illuminate the room proper, the source of the splashing becomes quite clear. Bound hand and feet in cold iron shackles, with a massive cloth gag shoved and tied into a mouth forced fully open, is a woman of indeterminate age. Her pale, green-skinned face is twisted in fury, and her yellow eyes flash indignantly in your direction as you near. The woman appears to have been stripped of all possessions, left with only woolen underclothes, revealing that the rest of her green skin is covered by intricate golden tattoos swirling out from her chest to encircle her limbs. Her arms and legs are seemingly stuck partially through a transformation, otherwise slender limbs bulging with black-furred muscle around the bonds. Her hands and feet end in the oversized paws of a bear, and around the gag you can see huge ursine incisors trying to gnaw away at the cloth.

The woman glares at you as you watch, then throws herself into another attempt to break free from her bonds, splashing furiously in the foot or so of water. Failing once more, she falls sideways into the water, chest heaving from the exertion. Her short bob of yellow-white hair is soaked through by sweat and water, plastered to the side of her head to reveal pointed ears twice the length of an elf's. With obvious effort she rights herself once more, straightening her back in a regal manner, watching you with as haughty an expression as she can manage given her current circumstances.

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You can untie me now. I promise I won't bite.

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix takes but a moment to gaze upon the room with his Paladin's Sight, sweeping for any signs of concealed evil, before he moves to the woman's side. The powerfully-built dragonborn seems to hold no fear or hesitation at the sight of the woman's bestial appearance, and he leans his ranseur against the wall a few feet away from her, inspecting her chains for a moment before nodding to himself. He reaches forward and removes her gag, his strong hands surprisingly gentle. "Milady, I will break you free from these as best I can; I am no expert on such matters, but I assume the metal is quite painful. Just give me but a moment to call forth strength from the stone, and I will aid you."

His platinum scales already alight with power, Maekrix murmurs a series of sharp, blunt syllables. His hands, already metallic and thick, seem to grow dull until they resemble the stone around them. He then grips the manacle around her wrist as best he can, and he begins to wrench against the thick, heavy metal. His muscles bulge with an inhuman power, and after a minute the manacles begin to screech in protest. After a few more second, and the horrible sound of tearing metal, the manacle shatters, coming apart in his grip like clay. Maekrix lowers his head for a moment, panting, and then he looks up with a faint smile, the expression slightly capricious despite the circumstances. "Shall we do the next one, milady?" Without waiting for a response, he starts on the manacle on her other wrist, and much can be said for his chivalry that despite his proximity his eyes hardly wander from the chains.

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Be careful, not only his he throwing 22 Strength at the manacles, he's throwing 24 Charisma at your hearts.

More seriously, manacles have a break DC of 26, which he can manage while taking 20. If these are considered masterwork, I posit that the efforts of Jarian's character more than make up for the 2 point difference in DC's.

[Jarian]

Instead of flexing muscles to burst the bonds, the woman merely twists her free paw in a delicate swirling gesture, digits weaving through a lacelike pattern, trailing a faint green mist. A heartbeat later a sphere of emerald flames appears in her grasp, which she touches to each of the other shackles in turn, each one flashing to dust at the touch. Thusly freed, she pulls the gag from her mouth and hurls it away into the water almost in the manner of a petulant child. She works her jaw slowly for a moment, easing stretched muscles, then bows her head in thanks and stands. Her hands and feet return to their normal, delicate forms, and her teeth seem to ripple like agitated water as they flow upwards, back into her mouth until they are one more of a usual size.

"My thanks, mighty dragonkin," she says, voice a lilting melody that brings to mind spring breezes and winter snows - quite literally, in the manner of the fey magicks. The woman twists her hands in a graceful motion to rest one atop the other across her breast, then bows at the waist. As she does, you notice a set of four small, insectile wings sprouting from her back, plastered to her flesh from the water. "I began to despair that I would never get free, never be able to continue on my quest. You have my deepest personal gratitude, and that of the Court, for freeing me from my imprisonment."

The woman pauses, seeming to consider for a moment, then extends one fine-boned hand for Maekrix to kiss. "You may call me Arafel. This is the way of the world's people these days, is it not?" she asks, seemingly legitimately curious.

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix accepts the proffered hand with courtly grace, quite the gentleman despite his inhuman appearance; he brushes her fingers gently, careful to avoid impropriety despite his wishes to the contrary. He straights back up with a smile, pleased that no harm had come to the lovely fey woman. "It is well to meet you, Arafel, and your manners are indeed contemporary. I am Maekrix Ux Tibur Spellscale, Paladin and Spellsword of Dragonkind and servant of the great Gold Dragon Norvartis. I will do whatever is within my power to take you from this place unharmed, milady, though I fear that we have a mission of great import to complete before that can happen. Tell me, Lady of the Court, upon what sort of mission were you set before your imprisonment? We may be aimed towards the same goal."

[Jarian]

Arafel's eyes widen at the mention of Norvartis, and she takes an involuntary step backward, surprise painted on her face. "Why... but that makes no sense! I was not told of any others..."

She considers for a long moment, ageless features furrowed in thought. "Yes, I think we may very well be aimed for the same target, and shot from the same bow no less!" she says at last, eyes running over the rest of those present. "I do not know how or why, but it appears our benefactor is the same in this. Why he would keep such a thing from me is a mystery, and yet, here we are... Your companions, they are also in the service of the d- . . . of Norvartis?"

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix nods, though his own face becomes contemplative at the fey woman's words. "These two are indeed on the path set by the Great Gold One, and Darmok here is a Paladin of Robin, directed by Robin on a journey that runs parallel to our own. It is good to have you join us, fair one, and I look forward to fighting beside you against the darkness in this place." Maekrix seems to have utter confidence in the woman's martial prowess, despite the difference in their size and her femininity. "I must ask, milady, if we should seek out your equipment, or are you of the more monastic mindset that eschews worldly tools?"

[Jarian]

"I would not decline an offer to find my things, but I strongly suspect nothing of value to me remains here. I have no use for most worldly objects, as you quite astutely speculated, though there are objects of ancient power that the Court and I are most interested in, should our paths ever cross such things."

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More specifically, Arafel has a weak Vow of Poverty, as you no doubt guessed. However, there are exceptions for plot-critical artifacts, if and when we find such.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn face-palms at the sight of the bound girl, and chuckles as he moves forward to assist. When he sees he is not needed, however, he steps back and watches the exchanges with admiration.
'I would point out our double standard in the swiftness of this young woman's release, but at this point it seems that someone is gifting us with fine new companions, all wrapped up and everything."
He gives a grand, sweeping bow after she makes her introductions. "My name is Alwynn Gaiwinaiko. Unlike my esteemed companions, I have no grand title - I am merely a man of the world." He gives her a wink at the last, then takes her hand and places a tender kiss on it. "It is a delight to meet you. It has been some time since we have had gentler company."
A look of sadness flits across his face for a moment, but he whisks out his bag of toffees and it is gone. "Care for a sweet, my sweet?"

[Jarian]

"Thank you, but no. Mortal fare does not sit well with me, I fear." Instead of taking the offered toffee, Arafel steps closer to Alwynn and brushes her fingertips across his cheek, frowning slightly.

"Such sadness," she breathes, as if feeling Alwynn's pain herself. "Who do you sorrow for so, Alwynn? Another of your companions, or a lost love? If you wish, I can free you of such pain of heart for so long as you desire. Sorrow is such an unpleasant emotion..."

[Serpentine]

Alwynn grins broadly at "lost love".
"I never sorrow for a lost love! Rather I revel in the fact they deigned to love me at all, if even just for a short while! No, it is for a companion, slain by treachery.
"Thank you for your offer, but I fear it would be a discredit to her memory."
He looks around at the suddenly much larger group.
"Well... We're quite the little band, now. We might even actually be able to take on whatever malignity is down here!", he beams.

[Jarian]

Arafel nods, smiling softly. "Of course. Your people would choose to remember, even if it meant keeping the pain. I understand. Perhaps, then, you would prefer a simple lightening of the mood, rather than forgetting all your troubles. This place is certainly grim enough to evoke dark thoughts in the best of us, even if outwardly we are unafraid. A song to lift the spirits - and to remember a fallen companion, perhaps?"

[Serpentine]

Alwynn laughs and shrugs.
"Well, it would certainly confuse any enemies that might be lurking down here..."

[Jarian]

Arafel's expression hardens briefly, full of barely restrained fury. "I welcome any who thought to restrain me to face us in open combat. I think they will be unpleasantly surprised this time around." Then her face lightens again, full of almost childlike whimsy. "But I will sing as softly as I can, and let whatever troubles may come of it find us merry and ready to face them."

And so she sings, in a voice that, though quiet, still fills the air. Her every word seems to evoke the magic of the fey, washing away worries and replacing them with thoughts of better times to come. As she sings, the chamber seems to melt, the walls fading away to reveal distant forested horizons, the ceiling vanishing only to be replaced by a cloudless midsummer sky. The murky water of the floor instead becomes a gently flowing stream of clear, sparkling water running off into the distance. Birdsong joins her voice in almost perfect harmony, the chirps and tweets of a dozen different species, and a warm breeze blows through the air.

" 'Listen, my child,' you say to me
'I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call, and I'll set you free'

I am the voice in the fields
when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves
when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep thoughout
all the cold winter long
I am the force
that in springtime will grow

I am the voice of the past
that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood
in my fields
I am the voice of the future,
bring me your peace
Bring me your peace,
and my wounds, they will heal..."

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Required listening.

If you're interested in knowing what Arafel did, you can roll a pair of spellcraft checks for the specifics. Sadly, she's not a bard, so there are no actual mechanical effects though.

[Witchdoctor2012]

Darmok enters the room behind Maekrix and upon observing the bound fey woman he turns to Vinto and says: "I see I am not the only one who had an unpleasant greating today." He was about to object to Markrix freeing the poor creature, for they knew not weather this could be a trap, but then he remembered what it was like to be tied up for such a long period of time and decided to muffle his objections until the maiden could explain herself. As Maekrix introduces Darmok, he simply bows in politeness and waits for his chance to speak with the fey woman. Darmok waits patiently as he listens to the conversation unravel after Arafel's beautiful song Darmok says to her:"My lady that was one of the most pleasing sounds that my ears have ever had the pleasure of enduring. As my companion said, I am Darmok, Holy Paladin of Robin and the voice of his justice. I too was sent by the great and wise dragon separate from these three, they also did me the courtesy of unbinding me just moments ago, for I too was ambushed upon my entrance to this dismal place. Where you also attacked by two humans, a half-elf, and a dragonborn with a dark resemblance to this dragonkin?" Pointing to Maekrix. "Since we are of one mind, I pleage to protect you with my sheild and to heal your wounds should my sheild splinter until I can no longer draw breath into my lungs." Darmok brings his right forearm to his chest with and places his closed fist over his heart and bows with respect as he makes his comment.

[Jarian]

Arafel tilts her head back as her song ends, closing her eyes and smiling as she basks briefly in the warmth of the sunlight. Then she takes a single step toward Darmok, and the entire effect fades away, rippling like a still pond with a stone thrown at her feet, colors shifting and blurring until the dreary cavern has replaced the idyllic summer scenery. The birdsong and warm breeze fade with the rest of the scene, leaving only the sound of the group's echoing voice remaining.

Arafel's smile fades with the scene, though her voice is still light and cheerful when she speaks. "Thank you. My people have always possessed a gift for music and song, though I cannot summon forth the magic of the melody as others can. Still, it is but a modest talent when compared to the strength you must all possess, if you too were chosen by Norvartis to carry out his will."

She bows to Darmok, accepting his oath with the grace of one who has had many sworn to her over the years. Instead of extending her hand for him to kiss like the others though, she reaches out to clasp his fist between her two far more delicate hands, then utters a quick pledge of her own: "By Oak and Stone I do also pledge to protect you and yours from winter's wrack and summer's storms, through trial and tribulation, in times of feast and times of famine, for so long as our paths travel the same road. So it is agreed."

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I'm not actually sure who ambushed Arafel. I would guess it was the same four, but I don't know exactly.

[Galathir]

Vinto follows the other three into the room but once inside, he stands back a few steps, silent and still. His face betrays a mixture of awkwardness and intimidation at the lovely druid and he seems to be unsure of what to say.

Arafel's graceful song brings to the surface emotions that override his reticence. "My name is Vinto, servant of Robin. I am no heir to noble blood or venerable oaths, but if I can ever ease your pain for sooth your hurts, I will be in your service as long as you shall require."

He shuffles his feet and hesitates for a moment, torn between the reluctance to voice his question and the curiosity of an energetic desire to understand everything around him. After a brief breath, he says "This court you speak of . . . is it the Fey Court? I've read bits and pieces about them, but always -second-hand, you understand. You must be very old." His face flushes red and he stammers out an explanation. "I mean, you are very beautiful, as a woman, that is, not that you look old or anything, just all the Fey I've read about are ancient beings of power . . . I'll just shut up now."

He drops his head and looks at the water pooled around his legs.
__________________________________________________ _________

You are in a room about twenty feet square. The floor is hard to discern because it is covered with about six inches of tepid water. The brick walls are crumbling and frequent gaps reveal the origins of the bricks piled along the base of the wall. Directly opposite the entrance where you entered the room there is a iron door. Or to put it more correctly, there was, at one time, an iron door there. Long years of dampness have resulted in a level of rustiness completely unexpected by the original builders. The bottom two feet of the door are rusted away and only a thin lace of rust makes up the rest of the door. It would seem that a hard glance would be enough to make it collapse into dust.

OOC @ Arafel

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You were indeed ambushed by four people matching that description

[Jarian]

Arafel laughs at Vinto's stumbling words, shaking her head. "I am not so old as you might think. Truth, I am fairly young for one of my people, though we do not age as others do. Amongst your people, I would be considered old enough to be your grandmother I expect, but in the Court I am barely of an age to hold a proper audience, nevermind a seat. Ahh, but the Queens, now those are mighty and aged fey indeed. There is a song your people sing of them I believe, and much of it is true. I could sing it if you wish..." she glances around, then shrugs. "...though perhaps this is not the time."

[Witchdoctor2012]

Darmok was surprised by Arafel's response for he anticipated that she would simply extend her hand to him as she had done the others. When she touches Darmok and utters her pledge, his cheeks turn a bright red and in slight embarrassment says: "Thank you my lady, your grace is as eternal as your beauty." As Arafel turns to speak to Vinto, Darmok begins to ponder what their next move should be. He then says: "It looks as if that door has deteriorated greatly, and could easily be opened. I suggest we move forward, I do not wish to let those evil men to make escape with the artifact that we have all been sent to recover."

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix stands still after Arafel finishes, on hand gripping his polearm and one resting at his side, slack. He stares off into nothingness for a time, his eyes still gazing upon the phantasm of field and sky. Finally, he blinks, slowly, and brings himself back into the filthy and sodden dungeon. He looks about, setting his jaw, before facing the rusted and ancient door. "I hope you will not think me a brute, milady, solving all of my problems with force..."

Without another word, he sweeps his stonelike fist into the rust steel, and the power of his arm drives it through like fire through parchment. The door crumbles away, and he stands facing the darkness, his armor blazing and his head held high. His blade flickers with a subtle silver power, and his scales reflect that light, throwing it back cleaner and brighter than before.

He turns his head back to the others, and the faint power of the moment is broken, if only slightly. "But when all one has is strength, strength is what one must use. Shall we press forward, into this dark and evil place, to slay horrors that few dare face?"

[Jarian]

"A brute uses force where force is best left aside, Maekrix. In this place, force is... appropriate." Arafel says, inclining her head slightly. "Yes, best if we press on. But one moment, if you please."

With that, she begins weaving complex patterns in the air with both hands, streaming luminescent green mist. With every completed pattern the mist flashes and vanishes, and a change crosses her body, shifting her appearance. Her skin becomes distorted and rough, like the bark of an oak, then seems to blur until she is hard to stare at without straining your eyes, seeming to occupy two nearby positions at the same instant, but neither one truly there. Her eyes begin to emit a soft yellow glow, and what appears to be thick webs sprout from her palms, swirling tightly around her hands to create a pair of gray-white lacelike gloves.

But these transformations pale when compared to what follows. With a motion like a sharp bow at the waist, Arafel releases a low, guttural growl, then her entire body seems to expand, growing to thrice or more its normal size. Her fine-boned face warps, losing height while at the same time surging outward into the beginnings of a maw. Thin limbs suddenly bulge with massively powerful muscle layered atop muscle as she falls to all fours, and her hands and feet expand into huge paws with equally large claws in place of fingers. Thick tufts of brown hair sprout along her face, then race backward across her still shifting body to cover her from nosetip to short, stubby tail. A pained sound, half groan, half growl escapes from her jaws, which open to reveal massive incisors almost the size of a man's hand.

Then the transformation is complete, and Arafel, now in the guise of a huge brown bear, manages a few words through her pained panting. "It is a... singularly unpleasant experience... though likely necessary. Let us... press onward." The voice that comes from the bear's maw is recognizable as that of the delicate fey, but deeper, more guttural. It carries none of the lighthearted whimsy now, only stern determination.

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That would be your standard brown bear, for anyone curious. Also a blur, barkskin, spider climb, and see invisibility effect, if not those exact spells. Anyone with sufficient ranks in spellcraft will also recognize that Arafel summoned a Pixie with an SLA.

[RaggedAngel]

Maekrix raises his brow, though he has no actual eyebrows, as the druid casts her spells. "That was an... impressive display, to say the least. I think those that captured you were wise to use cold iron, lest they catch the brunt of your wrath. I wish I could return the display, but most of my magics are for use within combat, not in anticipation of it. I must say, however, that you are so lovely that your beauty shines through, even as a bear." He winks at her, once, his unswerving charisma enough to bull through the wall of chivalry he had attempted to set in place.

He looks to the others, and nods once, his courage infectious and his expression oddly cheerful. "And now we will discover what this place has in store for us, friends old and new. Let us see what the Great Dragon would have us fight and face." He turns and walk into the now-open door, unconcerned for himself and prepared for anything.

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We don't have a rogue, but Wings of Cover is basically the same thing.

[Galathir]

Vinto relaxes as Arafel offers her graceful reply. He watches in entranced fascination as the lovely Fey transforms into a bear. "A woman of many talents, to be sure. But you are correct, we must press on. Too much time has already been wasted." He follows the others through the smashed door but pays careful attention to the remaining framework and the layout of the room he is entering.

"With this door so rusted, how could those other guys have gone through it without it falling to pieces? I mean, Maekrix barely touched it before it crumbled to dust. Whoever they are, they have a nice bags of tricks with them."

__________________________________________________ __________

The room you are entering is a bit larger then the one in which you found the bound lady of the Fey Court. The side you entered on is perhaps 30 feet wide with the door in the middle. The adjacent walls are about 20 feet long. As in the previous room, there is about six inches of water on the floor and the flagstones are cracked and broken leaving holes and crevasses that make for rather treacherous footing (difficult terrain). The walls are the now familiar decrepit brick and the ceiling is rough hewn stone much like the previous areas, but with one significant difference. Small round holes puncture the stone in close ordered ranks, spaced about one foot apart. Instead of the previous streaks of limestone deposit, the holes are dyed the dismal red of oxidizing iron.

On the opposite wall there is a large door constructed of solid iron. It is set directly into the brick with no immediately apparent knob, knocker, lock, or handle. Just a flat slab of iron streaked and stained with decay and rust. Unlike the other door, however, it seems solid and unlikely to crumple with a simple blow.

In the centre of the room there is a small pedestal about three feet in height. On the top, crafted in bronze, there is a small dial. A raised marking on the dial points directly towards the door you have just entered from.

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Also, wings of cover sucks "You wanted your monster to be scary? Sorry. He can't do anything while I just stand here and kill him." The only possible solution is to just use more monsters that all have multiple attacks

[RaggedAngel]

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Wings of Cover is strong, yes, but it doesn't work if there are:
1. Multiple foes.
2. Foes with a full attack.
3. Decent spellcasters.
4. Enough hits to drain my 2nd level spells, which are now down to 3 or so.

So don't worry too much. Just think of it as death insurance, in case you misjudge the CR of something.

Maekrix looks the room over carefully, uncertain of how he should proceed. He inspects the holes in the ceiling above especially, seemingly quite concerned about them. "Those look like a trap of some kind, as does the pedestal. I assume that none of you are particularly skilled in trapfinding, and I am certainly not; I am, however, rather good at staying alive. If this is a single-shot trap, I could simply move out into it and trip it, using my magic to stay relatively unharmed. It's extremely risky, and I would rather not do it if there is a better way, but it is an option nonetheless."

He then takes a moment to call on his Paladin's Sight, sweeping the room for any presence of evil. A moment later he murmurs a few words of power, and he then looks upon the room with the vision of a mage, his eyes finding the lines and threads of magical power woven throughout the ancient place.

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Detect Evil, Detect Magic.

[Serpentine]

Alwynn listened to the song with closed eyes. When it ends, he says nothing but stands a moment longer with a faint smile on his face before reluctantly opening his eyes again.
He watches the various transformations of his two companions with a bemused smile, and then smiles enviously.
"I'm afraid I've already used most of my tricks for today, and none are quite so flashy." He stretches with his staff.
"This old man is about ready for a nap... Oh well, I'll live." He pauses, and then taps his staff twice on the floor. "Knock-wood."
Alwynn passes his staff over his eyes and mutters some words, and then joins Maekrix in examining the room.

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Suppose I ought to go back and see just how many spells I have cast since we last rested...

Detect Magic + Perception check (1d20+6)[25]

edit:

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Oh hey, it turns out I have a whole lot more spells left than I thought! Still not much that flashy, though :C

[Jarian]

Arafel plods forward into the room, lumbering to a halt just behind Alwynn. She raises her snout and begins sniffing at the air, then thoroughly smells the floor too for good measure. This done, she observes the rest of the room with a critical eye, paying close attention to the pedestal and, perhaps more importantly, the dial atop it.

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Scent! Does Arafel smell anyone that she recognizes as having come through here recently? If necessary, Perception to track: (1d20+14)[29]

She investigates the dial, looking for any connection between it and the holes above, or it and the rusted door (beyond the obvious directional correlation). Perception: (1d20+14)[18]

[Galathir]

OOC for everyone

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Those of you casting detect magic or detect evil can find no evidence of any spells or SLAs in effect in the room besides whatever items or buffs are on your characters. Any devices in the room are either very well shielded or purely mechanical in operation.

OOC for Arafel

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You can detect no scents or other traces of someone else having passed through this room. You can imagine that the slowly flowing water covering the room would effectively wash away any lingering scent unless it was very recent.

You aren't really sure what the correlation is between the dial, the holes in the ceiling, and the door, or if there even is one. The dial does have marks corresponding to the two doors but you can see on concrete connection that would definitely point out the effect of turning the dial.

OOC for Alywnn

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You examine the holes in the ceiling and with a close glance, notice that there are shallow scrape marks along the sides of the holes and chips along the edge as if some sharp object was expelled from the holes at high velocity. You feel that such a situation occurring before you vacate the room could result in compromising the current waterproof integrity of your skin. You also notice that there are markings on the dial corresponding to each of the two doors though the exact effect of turning the dial is unknown.

[Jarian]

"If none of you have a better plan, I may be able to create an alternate path through the walls. I do not trust this place, so perhaps best to stand clear of the room while I do so."

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If nobody has any bright ideas, I'm going to make a nice party-sized hole in the wall by the door we have to go through. From a safe distance, of course.

[Witchdoctor2012]

Darmok is still thinking about what to do next when Maekrix smashes through the door with relative ease. He then says: "Well that's more or less what I was thinking." When Arafel makes her transformation, Darmok is quite impressed with the fey lady's power and says after Vinto speaks: Your power will make our chances of success much greater milady, I am glad the Golden Dragon has chosen his servants wisely." He then proceeds to examine the room with the rest of the party. Darmok says "I am not skilled in detecting or disabling taps either, but i do not think there is any evil in this place at the moment...still I think caution would be prudent." He then looks at the mighty bear and says: "I agree, the obvious choice of passage is not always the best...many times before have I saved myself great trouble by borrowing through a wall to avoid an obviously more difficult path."

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Darmok casts Detect Evil and also does a perception check [roll]1d20+1[/roll] Oh and Kudos to Galathir if you get the Tomb of Horrors reference! ;)

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Ok so I did the roll right the first time then i forgot that i couldn't edit it afterwards and now it doesn't have the roll i made for perception but it was only a 5 total :(

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[Serpentine]

Alwynn examines the holes closely, and holds up a hand to stop anyone moving forward.
"At first I thought these were the spaces left behind by long-decayed bars, but upon closer inspection..." He stands up and looks at the others. "I think something comes out of these, at great force, and no doubt very pointy."