A Thorn In The Hand IC

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur quickly changes into something that won't weigh him down and takes the rope, "Okay, if I start tugging in it furiously, that means I'm ready to come up...or that something's gone wrong."

He looks into the pool, "I guess I'm as ready as I'll over be."

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Spot: (1d20+1)[6]
Search: (1d20+4)[14]
If I see nothing threatening then I begin wading into the water. For convenience's sake I'll continue the post like it looked clear and save us a couple hours OOC.

He grips his lifeline securely and begins his descent into the water.

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Once he's quite a ways beneath the water he'll cast Prestidigitation to make his air bubble
Begin Swimming: (1d20+1)[19]

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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You see nothing that might be a threat

As Halabur dives under, the water is actually bare even warm, he is only fully submerged long enough for a single breath before this head pops out into the swirling wind. Once his head is out, his body quickly follows, tumbling a couple feet into the soft dirt on the pool floor.

**Refelx save please Arranis, DC 7.**

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur feels comfort as his feet hit the dirt, he begins looking around for the item.

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Reflex: (1d20+3)[23]
Search: (1d20+4)[16]

[Malak'ai]

Halabur, after a brief moment of surprise manages to somehow twist his body round, landing safely on his feet mare inches from the object.

From here it doesn't seem to be buried at all. Just laying in the dirt.
It's long and "L" shaped. The long arm is longer than Halabur is tall, the shorter one would come to his chest and on the end of it is a round "cup" with an octagonal depression inside it.
All along it's length are engravings of a very similar design as the dial above.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur stares at the device, resolving to inspect it once he gets safely back. He tries to tie the rope around the item.

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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It seems lighter than you thought it would be, but you'd still need help to lift it up by yourself.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur ties the rope around the thinnest part of the item, making sure it's secure and tugs the rope.

[Wordplay]

Raif feels the tug on the rope, and calls over Verossa, Drayner and Elenora.

'Alright, everyone, haul away!'

Str check (1d20+2)[3]

[Malak'ai]

**Somehow, I don't think that's going to do it .**

Halabur feels a slight tugging at his waist as Raif starts pulling on the rope.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur blinks in surprise at the little tug he received. Thinking that maybe he imagined it, and that Raif hadn't felt his tug, he tugs back harder.

[Wordplay]

Raif groans in agony, and massages his bicep.

'AH, AH, pulled a muscle'.

'Should have warmed up first...'

Raif burns create water to fix his arm.

'OK, let's try this again'.

(1d20+2)[17]

[Machuchang]

As Raif massaged the life back into his arm, the dame steadied herself, planting her feet firmly against the ground. Once the cleric was ready, Eleanora wrapped her hands tightly around the rope and pulled, lending her strength to the older man.

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Aid Another (if okay): (1d20+3)[21]

[Malak'ai]

After a brief moment, Halabur can feel a slight movement on the rope before being wrenched off his feet so hard that he nearly folds in half.
Before a sound can escape his mouth he finds himself being dragged up through the water and out onto the dirt surrounding the pool.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur flops onto the floor with a crash. He starts gasping as he feels the sweet taste of air again. "*GASP!* Thanks guys... *GASP!* I thought you had *GASP!* forgotten about me *GASP* down there." He feels his tender ribs. That's going to leave a nasty bruise. He thinks to himself.

He goes over to the artifact and unites it, "Now let's see if it was worth all that trouble."

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Knowledge Arcana: (1d20+10)[25]

[Wordplay]

'Sorry. We were a little slow off the mark - I pulled a muscle'.

Raif coils up his ropes and attempts to dry them out as best as he can.

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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You can't see anything magical in the patterns, but you're sure that the patters on the "cup" match the ones on the device in the floor.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Well, I can't see anything magical in the patterns, but I'm sure that the patters on the "cup" match the ones on the device in the floor. Should we try touching them together, or seeing if one fits over the other?"

[Wordplay]

'Hmm...alright. I hope I do not live to regret this'.

Raif helps Halabur lift the artefact, and move it next to the dials.

[Malak'ai]

As you rest the "cup" of the object on top of the device in the ground it slides down. An audiable "click" can be heard. The object is now standing up by itself, it's "arm" standing out between you.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Interesting..." Halabur mutters as he reaches out towards it.

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Knowledge Arcana: (1d20+10)[24]
If I fail it, then I'll touch it and see if it rotates.

[Malak'ai]

Halabur:

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Yep. The patterns match. In fact, they make quite nice scroll designs leading to the base of the cog.

As Halabur pushes on the "arm", it moves half an inch, a loud grinding sound echoing through the cave.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur shivers at the noise, "What a terrible sound!" He looks around the cave to see if anything changed.

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Search (1d20+4)[9]
Spot: (1d20+1)[2]

If nothing changes I continue as:

"You know, I have some solvent in my pack. Let me try and see if that will quite it a little bit." and he runs over to his pack to try and find it.

[Wordplay]

Raif cautiously peeks outside the cave, taking a look around.

I'll just check that moving that arm has not brought up a giant illuminated sign or anything of that nature. Better check that there is no-one sneaking up on us either.

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Take 10 on Spot
Listen (1d20+4)[16]

[Malak'ai]

Raif:

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You see the rising sun. It looks be the start of a nice day, only a few fluffy white clouds can be seen on the horizon.
As you get closer to the cave enterance you hear the (slightly annoying to some) sounds of the Dawn Chorus as the birds start waking up.

[Arranis Thelmos]

"Found it!" Halabur says with a gleeful look on his face. He returns over to the machine, greases it a little, and tries to push again.

[Malak'ai]

The level moves a little easier this time. There is still a grinding sound but no where near as loud. After moving the level about an inch you hear a clicking noise. When you look down at the cog, you see the safety catch has come on.

[Arranis Thelmos]

Halabur stares at the device in confusion, he tries pushing it the other way now.

[Machuchang]

"Most peculiar..." The dame muttered as she watched Halabur fussing over the instrument. She stepped cautiously away from the gnome as he worked, intent on examining the cave for any changes her party may have missed.

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Spot: (1d20)[20]
Listen: (1d20)[11]

"Could someone help me with my armor?" She asked, to no one in particular. "I like this not."

[Malak'ai]

Eleanora:

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You can only just hear the chirping of the birds from outside the cave.
As you look round, nothing appears to have changed in the gloom of the cave.

[Wordplay]

Raif heads back into the cave, just in time to hear Elenora's request.

'Certainly m'Lady, I will lend you a hand. Least I can do after all the times you have helped me with the same task'.

Raif moves around to Elenora and helps her into her armour - a process that he's becoming familiar with.

'It appears as though we're 'all clear' outside. The weather looks good too - quite sunny'.

As Raif's helping with the straps for the breastplate and backplate, he looks over Elenora's shoulder, checking on Halabur's ministrations to the machine.

'If you might perhaps desist for a moment, Halabur - just to give Lady Elenora and myself a moment to collect ourselves and prepare for any...adverse effects'.