The Depths of Korimir V2 [IC]

[darklink_shadow]

Spoiler: OOC

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Prestidigitation is hands down my absolute favorite spell. Any CHA based caster + intimidate + Prestidigitation is the most fun character to be, imo.

And yes, anything that could even somewhat feasibly kill the spores is enough. The "encounter" is really a skill encounter just to know the spores are lethal.

GO ahead and write whatever you want about destroying the mold, my post is only to signify that, yes, it all dies easily.

Quickly in response to Edward's show of force, the dire mold crackles with a high-pitched hiss and a low hum. After only a matter of seconds, all the mold has turned a dark grey as it gave up its ghost. All that remained in the room was some slightly singed mushrooms, and the office with its sundries.

[WaffleLord]

Edward

"Prepare yourselves for the conflagration. No need to fear, my fire does not harm my friends."

Drawing his arms close to his chest, eyes closed, he dramatically spreads them wide. Flames erupt around him, shrouding the wizard in crackling fire. Spreading out from the wizard, the searing heat passes by his allies with no effect, but causes the mold to turn to dust with great hissing and popping. As the flames dissipate, Edward expels a long sigh, centering himself, reigning his 'tremendous' powers. His eyes open with a satisfied smile. He nods once to his assembled audience before turning his focus to the books. However, his attention is stolen by a series of crystals on the desk.

"Hello? What have we here? 'Activate image', hmmm. These... these are... interesting."

Spoiler: OOC

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Investigate crystals - Perception - (1d20+5)[19]
Analyze crystals - Arcana - (1d20+12)[17]

[Taffimai]

Gudrun

"Born of the dragons indeed! Very impressive."

Gudrun walks over to the mushrooms and starts harvesting them.

"And you know, these really taste better roasted anyway, so it's all good."

Valeris

Having sheltered his face from the flames, Valeris now eagerly runs towards the desk and starts pawing the books.

"Fascinating! Can you read them, Professor?"

He briefly runs his fingers over the books feeling for other security mechanisms. Confident that the mold were the last line of defense, he picks one and holds it up.

"I certainly cannot read it, but my guess would be "Growing fungi for fun and profit" volumes one to five. Am I close?"

Valeris looks at Gudrun, then back at the spine of his book.

"Oh, well spotted! These symbols at the bottom do resemble a numeric system. I hope they're not about gardening though."

He hands the book to Edward to let him have a look and turns his attention to the crystals.

"Look at this! We had similar devices in my father's tower, I should remember some of this."

He looks intently at each crystal without touching them.

"Some of the mundane ones are missing, see? A red one here, two green ones there... I wonder whether they were laid out in this pattern for a purpose or just some form of doodling. Also..."

He glances underneath the desk, then quickly gets up again.

"I'll get back to that later. Anyway, you see this one here, with the notch in it? I am unsure of the common name for it, as my instruction was exclusively in Elven, but it loosely translates as a 'sound reader'. You would first take one of these white ones here," he points to the recording crystals, "and speak into them. The vibrations you produce are stored inside and they get a hue like these," now he points to the crystals with sound bites on them, "then if you want to hear back what was said at a later time, you place the recorded crystals into the reader and it magically amplifies the vibrations to recreate the sounds. We called them whisper crystals or just whispers, but that might've been just my mother and me."

He pauses to smile at the memory.

"Of course, we should be very careful about playing unknown crystals. I couldn't say for sure, but there might be harmful spells in here to deafen unwanted ears."

It is quite clear from his tone that despite knowing better, Valeris can barely hold back from showing off and attempting an activation.

"The ones on the side here, however, have nothing to do with the whispers. The most exciting ones are the purple ones right here, they are arcane keys. With a little luck they should open the doors for us. The two largest crystals just hold charges of various strength, but I don't know what they do. They might amplify spells, or work like magic wands, or power the keys,... I have no clue. Now, if you all don't mind lifting your feet, I want to feel through the dust on the floor here to see if I can't find those missing pieces of the motif."

He gets on his hands and knees and starts his search under the desk.

[darklink_shadow]

After even the most cursory search, it becomes immediately obvious that the missing crystals are not in this room. Well, unless they are invisible or otherwise magically hidden. It is much more likely, however, that the mundane crystals are simply not here. Put simply, without some insight into their culture, or something else equally as useful, all that can be surmised it that the crystals are missing. They are assuredly non-magical in nature, however.

Anyone who performs rituals, however, might ponder if they were ground into dust and used to power a ritual. Anyone who knows anything about gemstones might wonder if they were sold or stolen.

Spoiler: OOC

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Just to nudge you a bit, the missing crystals are not overly relevant. The present crystals are much more relevant. You will never find the missing crystals. And I really mean never; it's META knowledge, but these missing crystals are not within a hundred miles of here, or within infinity miles of here. They are not on this plane of existence.

But, everything else is valuable or relevant. And you two are great players.

Now for this:

With the mushrooms in tow, Gundrun believes they can be made to last nearly two or three days worth of food alone. They are highly nutritious and deceptively filling. Also mildly tasty. A bit like walnuts in taste, so the flavor is very mild. They are much better when cooked. Roasted is the best way to prepare them.

On Books:

The books are actually now quite clearly a series. After careful consideration, Valeris believes he is holding Vol. 4. There is not Vol. 1 present, but they otherwise are stacked in order.

Should anyone try to read them, they would find that quite impossible at the moment. However, there are quite a few tables inside. The data in the tables is mostly impossible to read, but quite often there are numbers within the tables.

The front page of the book Valeris holds has a stamp with an intricate symbol on the top. If you checked, all the books in here do as well.

[WaffleLord]

Edward and Melhved

Taking the book given him, he leafs through it taking care not to damage it further, disappointment evident on his face that he had wasted his languages ritual so early. He recognizes the same symbols used to denote the series on the covers written inside the books in table form.

"There obviously a great deal of information here if only we were able to decipher it." He looks longingly at the other heavily bound books. "Perhaps we may take a few for some reading later?" he asks, glancing coyly at the goliath standing nearby in thinly veiled impatient disgust.

Throwing her hands up, she sighs "If it will get us going..." She takes two of the books at random and stuffs them into her backpack. She shoulders the load with exasperation. "NOW can we go?"

"Just a moment. These crystals, if Valeris has the rights on it, could save us a great deal of time. Arcane keys could make short work of our escape, don't you think? Since we have such time savers here, I who say another moment spent looking might reward us in other ways. Take this for example," he says gesturing to the crystal with the words 'Activate Image'. "Who knows what secrets could be revealed! Shall we take a look at what this image may be? A map? A scroll?" he asks his fellow arcanist Valeris.

[Taffimai]

Valeris

"It's no use,... AHH!"

Valeris, who has failed to find the crystals he was looking for, veers up a little to quickly at the prospect of trying the crystals and hits his head on the bottom of the desk.

"Ow! Well, serves me right. Those crystals aren't on the floor here, they must've taken them somewhere else. But yes, professor, I'd love to try that image. Stand back everybody!"

Holding his breath, he places his hands left and right on the image recaller and infuses it with magical energy.

[darklink_shadow]

As Valeris channeled arcane energy into the imaging device, he briefly felt as if he could see a dozen images in his mind. It felt as if he sub-conscious looked at one in particular and all the others vanished. At the same moment his mind selected the image, it appears hovering above the device in perfect color. It was a simple image of a wizened old dwarf with a hard face, weary from years of strife, with a massive small plastered across his face as he held an infant dwarf in his arms. The image contains just the two dwarves and no background at all, but you get the feeling they are somewhere brightly lit up, unlike the room you are currently in.

The better observes among you would notice the dwarves were of a stock never seen prior to this. Darker skinned like the evil dwarves who lived in the grimy depths of the world, but with bright white hair unlike those you have seen. There are a few other minor differences that tell you this is a sort of dwarf never seen by any of you. It's easy to surmise they must have been driven to extinction.

[Taffimai]

Valeris and Gudrun

"That... that is amazing! Are you all seeing the same? Old dwarf holding their grandchild or something? I wonder what happened to them."

"I have met many dwarves over the years, but never any that looked like these. They must be... very distant ancestors of modern dwarves? Is there any way to tell how old these structures are?"

"I don't know. What do you think, Professor? I had the impression that there were more images stored inside, should we try again?"

[WaffleLord]

Melhved and Edward

At the appearance of the dwarf, Mel can no longer feign disinterest.

"That is quite remarkable, though the picture is obviously not true. I see many features that are incorrect about that dwarf. Never have dwarfs had that coloring. Beware some sort of deception."

"What? It's obviously some kind offshoot that no longer exists. Is this an image from your mind, Valeris, or stored in the stone? Fascinating! Why this picture in particular? Is it giving you any other information: name location? If you can, bring us another by all means."

[darklink_shadow]

As the goliath queries Valeris, the man realizes that there is an idea in his mind that is not his own. A thought; a few syllables long. It's hard to understand, because the thought is not in his own language, but it's clearly a happy thought. As for why the image appeared, he realizes when he activated the item, his mind flinched from the sudden explosion of data and he selected an image at random by accident.

Spoiler: OOC

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I actually rolled a die to see which image you opened up. So... that's why. :P

[Taffimai]

Valeris

Happy to follow up on Edward's suggestion, Valeris places his hands on the imager again, only this time he actively tries to choose one of the pictures. He settles on a happy young couple, all dressed up for some glorious occasion, like a party.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this: the images have titles, like "Mina's first birthday" or something, but I have no clue what that means in this language, so I just get to feel how the person storing them felt at the time. I think they're also numbered, but I'm not sure. Anyone else want to have a try?"

[WaffleLord]

Edward and Melhved

"By all means, I'd love a try," offers the wizard as he steps forward. Placing his hands on the imager, he concentrates with a look of wonder on his face. "There are so many! It's a life's story!" A image of a young dwarf holding a magical crystal with great joy appears. "They are craftsman, as our dwarves!" He summons the picture of a dwarven chorus. "Music and arts, what wonderful, vivid records! Cultural traditions as well!" As he summons the image of the female dwarf's wedding, Melhved, who had been coming closer with growing interest, turns and stomps away.

"Stupid pictures will get us nowhere! Find one that show's the exit, I say." Plodding to the middle of the room, she stands impatiently, gruff in manner.

[Taffimai]

Gudrun

"She is right. Looking through a dead dwarf's family album is nice, but we don't want to be caught off-guard. Why don't you give me a key and I'll try it on the next door while you see whether those whisper crystals are in a language you understand. They're not very likely to be in Elven."

Valeris

Visibly reluctant to move on before he has seen all the pictures, Valeris stubbornly leafs through them at a quicker pace.

"I think they show more than just one family's snapshots. These dwarves experienced loss and later adopted orphans, see? I wish we could find out who or what was killing them. There might be some horrible flesh-eating disease still lingering about. Still..."

He moves back to the desk and hands Gudrun the keys.

"I hope you find the one to get us out..."

His words trail along with his thoughts. His eyes move from one lady to the other as he continues, apprehensive of making one of them lose their temper.

"You know... even if we don't understand what's on the whispers, which we probably won't, these gems would allow us to repeat the ritual from before..."

[WaffleLord]

Melhved and Edward

"... and listen in to their thoughts, very good, very good. It will take me a few minutes to call upon the learned, arcane forces after hearing a sample of the language. Perhaps while you ladies find us safe passage, yes?"

"Anything as long as we're moving forward. I prefer sky and sun to glowing rods and rock." She loosens her sword in its scabbard, tightens her grip on her shield, and stands near the next door. "Let's get moving. Ready when you are."

[darklink_shadow]

While Gundrun tries the keys with the lock on the third door, Edward begins the incantations to summon the knowledge of the dead dwarven words into his mind.

Gundrun quickly discovers none of the keys work on the third door, and then in a vain attempts the keys on the fourth door only to find that the fourth door is likewise unresponsive. Edward does not come up as empty handed however. After a short ritual, he discovers that the room has new meaning to him. The books are labels plainly: "Warden's Log: Vol. 3" is the title of the book they've decided to claim as their own. In a brief moment of omnipresence, he opens the book, and the words flow to him. Clearly, as if slowly explained to him by a great orator, he sees now that the place they are in is a prison for the criminals of the ancient society. He finds it strange, however, to note that there is only but one employee of the prison. The Warden is the sole staff of a prison designed to hold all the criminals of an entire people. The book doesn't explain why, for it is only the personal log of this warden, the man whose office you've ransacked and the log only details day to day affairs. As if guided by a force more powerful than he, Edward grabs at the last book, only barely able to control himself in the fervor and rage of learning. The book knocks over to the floor, and he sees, scrawled on the last page, not an entry log, but a note: It's over, they've broken through the stone. I'm abandoning my post. Forgive me Morgarth, but not even your wrath is enough to conquer my wish to die with my family. I flee to them, and I beg you for forgiveness, my Lord of the Arcane Stones. If anyone reads this, I ordered the Makkins to terminate all prisoners, and then return to normal functional duties. Not even our worst criminals should have to die at the hands of the Zxik. If we survive this, do not begrudge a simple man his failure to die at his post. Honor cannot bind me as death approaches with a roar of thunder and hate. Gods help us, and damn me for my failures, if this is a test, I do not wish to pass it.

Just as Edward understands so much, and yet so little, Valeris gets the whistling stones to sing for him, and as it turns out, all that is on them is song. Wordless voices and the gentle ting, gregarious boom, and relaxing sizzle of unknown instruments are all that welcome him on the first stone he tries. Edward turns to look at Valeris, and then at the stones. With his new found understanding of words, he realizes what they had missed before: the whislting stones are carefully labeled. All of them are musical except one. The one that is noted to contain a memo reads: "To my wife," on it's label.

[WaffleLord]

Edward and Melhved

As enlightenment washes over the wizard, he quickly reads through as much as he can. "Zounds! Listen to this!" He recites what he can read of the text aloud to the others. Looking up a bit blanched he asks, "Am I reading this right? We've fallen into a prison?" He points to certain words in the book incredulously. "A prison that was attacked by...'Zxikes'? It appears these 'Makkins' are some type of automated helper of The Warden who were to kill the prisoners. Ruthless! If this last whisper stone is labelled correctly, 'To my wife', did he forget to take it or is it here because he was not able to leave with it?"

The goliath wandering back from the door turns to look at Gudrun. "So the foul one who soiled Tombak and Belshaazar, was he a Zxik, a Makkin, or a prisoner? And does it matter? I have earned no time in prison and will not let any of them stop us from leaving this one! Let's off! Wizards, open this door as you have before!"

Edward takes a few deep breaths. "Prison...prison." He shakes his head and, looking wistfully at the labeled message, slips the whisper stone into his backpack before shouldering his load and moving towards the third door.

[darklink_shadow]

The third door reads plainly to Edward: The Command Word is Ikx. A little below that it reads: PRISON. Looking to his left he sees the final door reads: The Command Word is Zak. but below that it reads: CITY: DANGER: DO NOT ENTER: DANGER: ZXIK: DANGER: LOCKDOWN

It is clear that with only a small amount of magic, and one spoken word, he can get the door to the prison to open, however, it appears the door to the city is locked in a manner beyond normal means.

[WaffleLord]

Edward and Melhved

Licking his dry lips, Edward turns to the group. "I can open this door," he says gesturing to the third portal, "quite easily, with but a word. However, it leads into the heart of the prison. This fourth door, beyond my means to open, would lead to our salvation if not for this warning:DANGER:DO NOT ENTER:DANGER:ZXIK:DANGER:LOCKDOWN. As loathe as I am to enter a prison voluntarily, it seems our only choice." He looks to each of his companions. "We will have to break into and then out of their lockdown. A daunting task. I would love to hear other ideas, else I'll say the word and away we go. Thoughts?"

The goliath shakes her head. "If these Zxiks are making it impossible to go out that door, then the other is ours. This cannot be the only entrance. We must find another. I say we go."

[darklink_shadow]

After some debate, the party resigns itself to the railroad tracks that lead into door number 3. The lucky winners find themselves presented with a long corridor that branches to the right after 10 feet, and again a few tens of feet past that, and finally seems to end at a final turn very far off. As they enter, force fields erect themselves around the party and hum. After a moment they turn from a light blue to an angry red, and the humming becomes more of a hiss. In the distance several hissing noises occur and then the sound of heavy footsteps approach.

A dwarf, twice the size in all dimensions, made of a smooth, pale stone with a ring of crystals forming a crown approaches you. You hear a few chiming noises and you feel the painful invasions of your minds as dozens of meaningless scenes from your past whirl through your mind's eye. INTRUDERS. The voice appears to ring from the walls, rather than from the golem itself, but entirely strange is the fact that it is speaking in common.

OBSERVATION: YOU ARE NOT ZXIK. LOGICAL CONCLUSION: THE ZXIK WERE ANNIHILATED AND THE GRU'JUL EMPIRE WAS REINSTATED. LOGICAL CONCLUSION: YOU ARE PRISONERS. OBSERVATION: NO TRIAL IS STORED IN MY RECORDS. YOU MUST HAVE DEMANDED TO BE TRIED BY THE ADJUDICATOR. YOU WILL FOLLOW ME TO YOUR CELLS. IN 5 CYCLES YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO THE TRIALS. COMPLY OR YOU WILL BE MADE TO COMPLY.

[WaffleLord]

Melhved and Edward

The goliath rages against the confining field, screaming at the invasion of her personal thoughts.

Edward's response is a bit more pragmatic. "I see. You must be a Makkin. We are indeed not in your files because we do not belong here. Cast down from above, or possibly across, we landed in your facility quite by accident. To keep your records clean and accurate, perhaps it's best if we just show ourselves out, yes? would you be so kind as to indicate the quickest egress?"

[darklink_shadow]

The Makkin turns and locks it's eyes on Edward. I DETECT NO FALSEHOOD. A long, pregnant pause as the construct's mind audibly whirled and churned. OBSERVATION: THERE IS NO PROTOCOL FOR THIS HAPPENSTANCE. WE WILL AWAIT THE WARDEN'S DECISION ON THIS MATTER. UNTIL SUCH A TIME AS WE HAVE HEARD FROM HIM, WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOU ARE TO BE INCARCERATED, AND YOU WILL REMAIN THUSLY UNTIL EITHER SUCH A TIME OCCURS THAT YOU DEMAND TRIAL BY ADJUDICATION, OR THE WARDEN GIVES FURTHER DIRECTIVES. COMPLY OR YOU WILL BE MADE TO COMPLY.

Another pause, as a stomping twin to this first speaker arrives. And then from down another corridor a third. UNTIL IT HAS BEEN DEEMED THAT YOUR CRIMES ARE GREATER THAN OUR LOWEST, YOU WILL BE GIVEN THE LUXURY OF THE PETTY CRIMES CELLS. FOLLOW THAT ONE. The speaker gestures at the makkin who came third, and the force field leading into the prison is dropped, only to be raised again just past the corridor you have been directed to enter.

[WaffleLord]

Edward and Melhved

"Upgraded accommodations? That is very...understanding...of you." Quietly to his associates, he adds, "Best play along until the balance of power changes." Louder again, "Say, as we go willingly without resistance to our cells, could you tell me more about 'Trial by Adjudication' perhaps?"

The warden continues to seethe as she tromps along. "Mater raised no foolish young. 'Yell not 'gainst the wind,' she'd say. Just so, we DO NOT belong here."

[darklink_shadow]

The Makkin paused, then turned. SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE RIGHT OF ALL CITIZENS TO BE PERMITTED A CHANCE TO GIVEN A CHANCE TO SERVE OTHERS RATHER THAN SERVE TIME. IN MODERN TIMES, NOBODY HAS NEEDED HELP, SO THE TRIAL BY ADJUDICATION WAS INVENTED. PRISONERS COULD SERVE THE COMMUNITY BY DUE VIRTUAL TRIALS AND WOULD GENERATE MAGICAL ENERGY BY ENDURING STRIFE AND SUFFERING. THE TRIALS ALSO TYPICALLY TEACH EVIL-DOERS A LESSON, OR THEY FAIL SO OFTEN THAT THEY GIVE UP AND SERVE THEIR TIME. YOU SHOULD BE WARNED, WHILE YOU ARE IN THE TRAILS, NO TIME SHALL PASS IN THE REAL WORLD, THOUGH IT MAY FEEL LIKE IT. IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRIAL BY ADJUDICATION, IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO BE FULLY INFORMED ABOUT IT. A MAKKIN WILL CHECK ON YOU HOURLY.

As it spoke, it escorted you to a pair of cells, each with a pair of bunks, a pot with an enchantment to destroy matter inside of it and nothing else. The walls were stark white, and the beds a dull grey. The material the beds were made of were clearly some variation of wool, but well made enough to be comfortable: much more so than the beds you slept on last night.

[WaffleLord]

"And so our heroes sat and sat, waiting for justice, waiting for freedom. Hours came and went. Then days. Then months. Then years. With little to mark time but the hourly coming of the makkins, time seems an unterminable crawl. Wanting nothing, their needs seen to by the machinations, their lives were lived out in front of one another each on display for the only others to watch.

Melhved grew frustrated and heavy, her years weighing upon her as her constant pleads of innocence fell of deaf, mechanical ears. At last her prodigious strength failed her after many decades. Her corpse sat for eternity, staring at the door, waiting for justice.

The wizard fell soon after. Brilliant and handsome to the end, he accept the end of his journey with calm dignity, ready to experience the next adventure of after-life.

Valeris, ever witty and jaunty, passed quietly in the night without warning. Never aging, never silent, his final performance was a new composition dedicated to the newest makkin activated with the small scratch upon its buttocks.

There sat Gudrun. For centuries untold she sat, her beauty untouched, her passion unquenched. Makkins came and went, still, there sat Gudrun. Wars raged, kingdoms toppled, mountains flattened, and sea rose, still, there sat Gudrun. The Gods played, and shaped, and erased, and battled, and slept, but still, there sat Gudrun. When, at last, the Final Tally came, and the world was split asunder to count all life, there sat Gudrun."



"Stop being so dramatic, Edward. I only said I'd like to think about adjudication for a minute," grumbled the goliath.

[darklink_shadow]

A new Makkin patrolled outside their stark white cage, twice he passed marking two hours of waiting. Finally another Makkin approached your prison. THE TIME IS AT HAND, YOU WILL UNDER GO TRIAL BY ADJUDICATION. THE DECISION MAKER HAS SPOKEN. SHOULD YOU PASS, YOU WILL BE FREED TO ROAM OUR CITY'S STREETS AS FREE CITIZENS. SHOULD YOU FAIL, THE MAKKIN WILL CONTINUE OUR LAST ORDER.

Edward remembered quickly, the last order was to terminate all prisoners, lest they be killed by the vicious Zxiks invaders. WE REQUIRE YOUR SPOKEN DESIRE TO UNDERGO THE TRIAL BY ADJUDICATION BEFORE WE CAN TRANSPORT YOU, HOWEVER. SPEAK YOUR DESIRE.

[WaffleLord]

Valeris sighs as he stands, "Well, as long as you insist." He clears his voice and booms out as close an imitation of the Makkin as he can. "WE DESIRE TO UNDERGO THE TRIAL BY ADJUDICATION. Capiche?"

The reluctant heroes gird themselves for whatever the future holds for them.

[darklink_shadow]

With a pop and a sizzle, the unfortunate heroes find themselves in a grand room, ceiling easily 30 feet high, and it's length expanding out more than a 100 feet, with it's width matching its height. The long walls are adorned with strange glowing crystals sitting before a metallic disc, about 5ft in radius. In the center of the room is a raised platform with four beds, and in the center of the platform is an even more raised platform with another large metallic disk. On either side of the disk are earthen-worked containers of some sort, with no apparent way to open them. Atop the center disk is a enormous crystal, nearly as large as a man. The room is eerie silent, and you get the feeling the trials are about to began. However, you feel an unnatural sleepiness seeping into your bodies, and the beds call to you.