The Vystera Jewels

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia slips out of line and in front of Kurt, silently inspecting the wheel, floor, and section missing from the wall, seeing if turning the wheel will move something under the floor to show up in the missing panel. She also looks to see if anything is out of place or potentially dangerous.

If she doesn't find anything dangerous, Natalia runs her fingers along the smooth grooves of the wheel, says, "Hold your breath," then experimentally turns the wheel.

[Hefty Lefty]

Shrine of Aquatos - First Floor - Third Room

Natalia doesn't find anything immediately threatening in the room. There are no shifting plates on the floor like in the last room, thankfully. She holds her breath and begins to turn the wheel, which she finds takes much more strength than she expected. She yanks on the device but isn't able to make it budge.

[CoffeeIncluded]

(OOC: Thanks, but what I was asking is if it looks like pushing the wheel would cause a panel to appear to fill in the gap in the floor, like there's a rotating floor under the main floor that's turned by pushing the wheel. Also, where is everybody?)

Natalia grunts as she pushes her entire weight, which isn't very much, against the device, eventually conceding to the wheel's weight. She looks at Kurt and asks, "Same strength?"

[Cavelcade]

Kurt drops his axe into its loop and steps forward to give her a hand then, looking for a way to get a good grip before straining to see if it'll turn either direction.

[achinca]

As no one as translated anything the kobold said, Miriam follows. She does not know about the swimming and the trap and the fact that armor and water don't mix well .....

[Athedia]

Mithril follows behind, staying away from the wheel to let stronger people try to turn it. She told Whiskers "Looks like you will finally have to take a bath."

Turning to look at Miriam she realized that while she, Shiny and Natalia would be able to swim and float with no extra weight Miriam and Kurt would have more trouble with their armor. "People with armor may want to watch out. The kobold said it is like the ocean here, water rising and falling. I don't know about you, but I know I would not be able to swim in armor."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Sink," she says, "Sink to see Great...Mother...D--Dragon..."

[achinca]

Miriam puts her hand on Mithril's shoulder "Thanks for the information sister".

She asks Shiny "Ask the kobold if any room get flooded as a trap or if we just have to swim certain part of the maze on our way to the shrine .... "

[Admiral]

Shiny translates anything the other party members ask, and continues to do so. "Shouldn't you be taking off your armor?" he asks Kurt and Miriam. "If this room fills with water, even Shiny Strongstroke, champion lifeguard and mermaid arm-wrestler, will be able to keep you afloat."

He also answers Natalia's question- "He'll tick and tock for one hour, then back to struggle and squirm."

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia draws a quick circle in the air with her finger and says, "Tick tock, once around. Got it." She also asks, "Is Shiny Strongstroke also Shiny Dragontamer?"

She then returns to pushing the wheel alongside Kurt.

[Hefty Lefty]

Shrine of Aquatos - First Floor - Third Room

Natalia doesn't think the wheel causing anything to rise from the small hole in the flooring. When she relinquishes control of the wheel to Kurt, she observes its effects with the rest of the group. Kurt manages to start it moving by turning it to the right; the momentum of spinning makes it easier to move, but if he were to stop it would be just as difficult to start up again. The wheel begins moving with a very loud, stone pushing on stone grinding noise, and the entire blue section of floor slowing begins to drop into the ground. The walls that had previously been hidden beneath the floor are tattooed with thousands of white scratches, presumably from the stone floor having been lowered and raised before. Under the scratches lies a simple, blue painting of waves peaking at the height of your feet. The pit Kurt reveals with his wheel is pitch black, but you can see in the first few feet that the water design continues down, with small fish and elements of the sea.

The kobold mumbles to himself in his zombified state. "Time to go for a dip..."

Spoiler

Show

Here's a quick sketch of what's going on. You can still see the floor with the squid. It's a sort of elevator mechanism. You can't actually see water, it's just painted on the walls.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia peers into the pit, swallowing when she realizes that she cannot see the bottom. She takes a pebble from her pocket and drops it into the pit, listening for it to hit the ground.

(OOC: How large is the entrance to the pit?)

[achinca]

Miriam starts taking off her armor. "May be, one of the better swimmer should do some reconnaissance."

[Hefty Lefty]

OOC: Let me correct yall before anyone else posts. I think I need to clarify my description.

EDIT: See my new spoiler in my previous post.

[CoffeeIncluded]

(OOC: Thanks for the clarification. So where's the pit?)

Natalia frowns as she runs her fingers along the blue squid carvings. They feel black like the stone they are, not like the water they depict. She turns to the rest of the group and says, "Lake or river? Dive in here, or bring the shoreline to us?"

[Admiral]

Shiny looks at the mumbling kobold. "Friend, is someone supposed to go down that pit? Is that how we get into the next room? And when do we go for a swim? "

[Hefty Lefty]

Shrine of Aquatos - First Floor - Third Room

"Yes, someone must be lowered into the shaft in order for your party to continue."

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia takes a step backward.

[Admiral]

Shrine of Aquatos - First Floor - Third Room

"Yes, someone must be lowered into the shaft in order for your party to continue."

"Well, friend," says Shiny in a cheerful voice, "How about we send you down? There's no danger after all, is there?"

[Hefty Lefty]

Shrine of Aquatos - First Floor - Third Room

"I will go down, but I will not go alone."

[Admiral]

Shrine of Aquatos - First Floor - Third Room

"I will go down, but I will not go alone."

Shiny considers this. "What's down there? Does more than one person have to go? Is there any danger?"

[CoffeeIncluded]

(OOC: You said that the tunnel was too small to fit anyone except Shiny, right?)

"Can we fit?" Natalia looks to the door. "D-Dragons must fly, eat, see the sky..."

[Athedia]

"I would rather not be the one to go down. But I can cast a light spell for whoever ventures down. It will only last 10 minutes but if there is water it will still glow."

Mithril examined the drawings. The design looked pretty but why would there be drawings of the ocean in the forest. It made no sense.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia holds up her long silken rope. "Mark the path."

She doesn't really understand why there are drawings of the ocean here either, but Natalia decides to focus on the fact that the Great Mother is a dragon instead. Ignoring her instincts to flee, she realizes that a dragon can't spend her whole life in the bottom of a water tunnel or whatever they were about to head into, so there had to be a larger back path somewhere...

[achinca]

Miriam stops in the middle of taking out her armor. "I am a young girl who knows nothing but I believe that finding out what is down there make sense before we all go down ...."

[Cavelcade]

Kurt just sighs as he stops trying to turn the wheel. "Tie the rope onto yourselves and we'll lower you down then, I guess."

[Admiral]

Shiny hops up and down with his hand in the air, like a schoolchild who knows the right answer. "I'll do it! Lower me in!"

[Athedia]

"What do you want lit? Anything will work, a weapon, some armor, or a pebble. Don't worry there is no damage to anything. Just do not give me glasses, I almost blinded a friend that way. "

Mithril winced at the memory, her friends mother had not been happy with her after that incident. She raised her hand ready to cast the spell as soon as an object was chosen.

[Admiral]

"What do you want lit? Anything will work, a weapon, some armor, or a pebble. Don't worry there is no damage to anything. Just do not give me glasses, I almost blinded a friend that way. "

Mithril winced at the memory, her friends mother had not been happy with her after that incident. She raised her hand ready to cast the spell as soon as an object was chosen.

Shiny gets a distant, wistful look in his eye. "There was a time that Shiny Lightbringer was feared in all the darkest, most evil corners of the world. His fearsome blade shone with the glow of a thousand suns. I thought those days were long behind me, but lo! Perhaps Shiny Lightbringer, divine champion and snake charmer, will bear the Sword of Illumination once again!"

With this dubious pronouncement, Shiny drops to his knee, draws his rapier, and presents it to Mithril in a dramatic fashion..

[CoffeeIncluded]

Meanwhile Natalia takes out the other rope and loops it between Shiny's legs and around his waist before tying it shut, making a simple yet functional harness.