[IC][3.x] Trump Card

[Recherché]

My apologies it appears that I was over cautious. Also it does not seem that we are meant to be imprisoned. In which case I have to wonder what in the name of all the forgotten gods are we doing here?!?

Yve's cheeks color slightly at her outburst before she recovers her composure.

Still I suppose no other way than foreward.

She quickly removes her tunic and pants and begins tying them together to form the beginnings of a rope.

Even if someone can scout we will likely still need to all head down there soon enough anyways. If we can get enough length we could tie this to the wheel and descend that away.

Otherwise if someone who wouldn't mind falling or climbing down could hold it while the rest of us descend.

Oh and if any of you mention this later I will deny it vigorously.

The threat seems slightly hollow coming from a woman wearing only undergarments and boots.

[PersonMan]

"There may be something down there that can help," Airinieska muses to herself for a moment. "I'll go ahead and see if there is," she continues, as Yve begins to tie her clothing into a rope, for the time being ignoring a strange desire to make some kind of quip about the dragon-woman's clothing. She could think about what that meant later. Climbing down into the opening in the floor, she lowers herself until only her fingers are clutching the edge, then lets herself fall, trusting in the deep confidence she feels. Dropping quickly, she pushes herself away from the pillar with her feet, and stares down at the ground until she feels it's close enough, bending forwards and doing a forward roll as she hits it, standing quickly.

As she stands, Airinieska can't help but smile to herself. That had felt surprisingly nice. "I'm in the room," she calls up, looking around the room for something that could help the others get down. No need for everyone to undress if there was a ladder waiting for them, after all.

Spoiler: Tumble Check

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(1d20+11)[29] vs DC 15 to negate falling damage, if it's 10-15 feet.

[byzantineblue]

The water softens your landing, not that you need it. The room is about a hundred feet in diameter. Except for the pillar rising through the hole in the ceiling and a pedestal of bricks rising out of the water near a wall, the room is empty. The water covering the floor is about two feet deep. There's a small box of dark wood sitting on the pedestal.

[PersonMan]

Airinieska makes her way to the box, examining it for a moment before opening it.

[byzantineblue]

Inside the box, you find three more cards. You get the sense that with just a little concentration, you can activate any one of them.

Spoiler: Cards

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[Thokk_Smash]

Chkrash watches the woman drop, then scoffs in his head. He could do that, too! Easing himself over the ledge, he falls down and into a roll on the floor.

Spoiler

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Acrobatics: (1d20+12)[22]

Once below, he approaches the pedestal and peers over the woman's shoulder. More tarot cards, he muses, pondering the cards' meaning.

Spoiler: Knowledge (Arcana) x3, in order

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(1d20+12)[27]
(1d20+12)[13]
(1d20+12)[24]

[byzantineblue]

Chkrash takes (1d6)[6] damage from the fall, but he manages to twist and avoid the worst of it.

Spoiler: Knowledge result

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The Magician is associated with the planet, Mercury and carries with it skill, logic, and intellect. The number of the Magician is one, the number of beginnings. The Magician is the bridge between the world of the spirit and the world of humanity.

The Two of Swords symbolizes indecision.
The Two of Cups symbolizes a relationship between two people.

[Barbarian MD]

Tolstoy

Seeing no other way down, the big man shrugs at Yves (who is still trying to weave a rope) and jumps, rolling in the shallow water to break his fall.

"Jump. I'll catch you," he calls up.

Spoiler

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Forgot it was all combined acrobatics. In other news, I worked a 24 hour shift in the ICU last night, and still haven't been able to fix skill points on my sheet, but I had 10 ranks in balance that will become acrobatics.

(d20+10)[11]

I might be able to aid another by catching her to break her fall? If so, feel free to roll for me.

[byzantineblue]

[Natural one.] You land awkwardly, accidentally hit the pillar itself, and take (2d6+3)[9] damage.

[DontEvenAsk]

Amalan peers down the shaft. "Are you all right down there?" he calls. Then he turns to Yve. "And you chose to sacrifice your own clothes rather than asking the others why, exactly?" He doesn't look disapproving as he says that, but he doesn't look approving, either. In fact he has an expression of bland interest on his face that could easily be unsettling.

[Recherché]

Pausing in her work for a minute Yve gives a slightly frustrated sounding sigh and rubs the bridge of her nose with her fingers before responding.

First because I'm pretty sure if I try jumping down there I will end up hurting myself. And while I can fix some damage with magic I'd rather not have to use magic on that. Besides I don't particularly appreciate putting myself in pain when there's another option. Only thing this costs me is my modesty. And if it doesn't* work well then there's* still the option to jump.

Second because I am not willing to ask someone else to do that which I would not do myself. I'd appreciate any help you could offer but you seem to take badly to being commanded. Also the help offered has been with the jumping which still seems likely to inflict some amount of pain.

[byzantineblue]

In case anyone is wondering, the "rope" of clothes is four feet long, if that, and will probably come undone unless more length is sacrificed to strengthen it.

[PersonMan]

"That may not be needed. We can activate one of the cards from down here," Airinieska says after a few moments, looking down at the cards after she's finished letting the others examine them. "Any insight to what they might do?" She asks.

[Thokk_Smash]

Chkrash waves the Magician card triumphantly. This is the card of the Magician, he says smugly. The first card, the card of beginnings. It's said it bridges the worlds of spirit and humanity.

After he finishes, he pulls a pensive face. Perhaps by activating it we will begin this...whatever it is our captors have designed?

If no one objects, he focuses his will on the card and wills it to activate.

[Barbarian MD]

Tolstoy grins as he stands back up, rubbing the back of his head, and comes to look at the cards over their shoulders.

He leaves the others to the cards and starts wandering around the chamber, kicking under the water with his feet and searching for anything else of interest.

[byzantineblue]

The card activates.

The room melts away and before you know it, you're standing in a grand hall. The walls are made of marble, as are the columns that stand in two lines down the hall. A thin, dark red or purple tapestry hangs on each one. Tolstoy and Chkrash's clothes and shoes are dry; all your wounds are likewise disappeared without a trace. (Yve is still nearly naked, but she still has the clothes she took off.) You're at full HP and feel as though you've just had a good night's sleep.

You stand at one end of the hall. On the wall there is a large shield emblazoned with a red X. Two longswords are hung crossed through it. At the other end, some hundred feet away, is an imposing pair of doors. A statue stands to one side.

[Barbarian MD]

Tolstoy immediately makes his way to the shield on the wall and attempts to take it for himself, then tosses the swords to whomever seems most interested in them.

[byzantineblue]

The heavy steel shield and the longswords come down easily.

[Barbarian MD]

TOLSTOY

The man sighs in relief, and his entire demeanor seems to change. He seems more complete, at home, despite the strange circumstances. He even grins. It is a jarring change to those observant enough to see it.

It isn't a tower shield, but it will do.

He tosses the swords to those who want them.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" he asks, now much more sociable. "I'm out of my depth here; I'm much better with something to hit." He eyes the statue down the hall. "They always come alive in the stories," he suggests helpfully. "And what just happened, anyway?"

[Recherché]

Well that was a waste. Still nothing truly important lost.

Yve waives away the swords.

Two swords for four people. I can just use my claws instead.

[Thokk_Smash]

Chkrash pockets the Magician, and the other two if no one objects. Short answer: magic, he says, tone more of a sneer though it seems unconscious.

Grabbing one of the swords, he strides down the long hallway purposefully. He approaches the statue first, observing it with wary gaze.

Spoiler

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Perception roll: (1d20+10)[14]
Knowledge (Royalty/Nobility): (1d20+5)[17]
Knowledge (History): (1d20+5)[14]
Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+12)[28]
Knowledge (Local): (1d20+6)[20]

[byzantineblue]

The doors are made of polished mahogany. A plaque between them reads: "One leads to peril, one to triumph. One question. One always lies. One speaks only truth." How quaint. But there is only one statue, a handsome man draped in cloth carved of dark marble. Where it seems the other should be is a note scrawled hastily on a sheet of parchment glued to the wall. "Apologies. There is no other statue. One ought to be sufficient, don't you think?"

[PersonMan]

Airinieska raises an eyebrow at Chkrash's comment, silently watching their surroundings change. As the hall comes into view, her eyes go over it, searching for something that might indicate where they are. She looks for windows, meanings inside the tapestries, something recognizable in the doors or the statue.

As the swords are passed out, she takes one, testing its weight in her hand before frowning slightly. "If we find something...less bulky, I'd like to take that. This is better than nothing, for the time being," she says. As Yve explains her preference for her natural weaponry, Airinieska looks over to her, red gaze searching for the claws in question, before she turns away and nods. If the draconic woman begins to unravel her clothing and put it back on, she waits, standing near her until she finishes before continuing forwards towards the doors with the others.

"What do you think happens after we ask our question?" Airinieska asks the others, turning away from the statue before she speaks.

[DontEvenAsk]

Amalan scoffs in pure derision. "I don't need you to tell me why you need a rope, Yve." He says her name with a sneer. "I respect your independence. All you had to do was tell me you preferred to be self-sufficient." He tilts his head. "You are correct that I take poorly to being commanded, but the way you say so sounds almost like an insult. If you wish to ask me for things, please, feel free. Our captor or captors clearly intends us to cooperate. However, I would recommend that you not condescend to me as you have. It can make me... difficult to work with."

The nerve of this woman! He asks her a simple question, and she responds with open hostility. Is her pride so wounded at even the suggestion of seeking help that she feels the need to heal it by lambasting him with the searingly voiced obvious? But she seems... useful. Perhaps they've only gotten off on the wrong foot.

Midway through this speech, he, too, is caught in the activation of the Magician. When he is quite finished, he blinks in subtle surprise and looks around, up, and down to take in his new surroundings. When he spots the swords and shield, he sighs. "I had so hoped for something smaller," he laments, but moves on quickly. To Yve he answers, "It is not a waste. Not all of us use swords. At least we have something. More troubling to me is that now that we've been given them, we might need them."

He pauses for a moment after Chkrash speaks, then adds, "Or that. That's a good explanation." Chkrash, now, he knows how to explain things. Just enough detail, no condescension. Lan feels a certain kinship with him, oddly enough; perhaps it's only that both have been spoken down to by Yve, but Amalan feels that the similarities go further back.

To Airinieska, he only shrugs, and he doesn't answer Tolstoy. Both, he thinks, are asking after the obvious. What has happened is a transportation, and if they question the statue, he feels quite sure, it will answer them only once.

[Recherché]

She had tried to be polite. She had tried to explain herself on simple terms. If he was going to take that as an insult there was little Yve could do. Well she could always try seducing him or lying through her teeth but somehow those options seemed even less likely to work.

So best to disengage rather than turning this into even more of a feud. Besides if it did become a feud she'd want as many of the others on her side or at least neutral.

I wasn't trying to be condescending; I was trying for extremely clear and transparent.

Yve shoots off the last words before walking to examine the statue instead of this fruitless argument.

I think I heard something about this riddle somewhere before . . . something about knights and knaves . . . and there are two answers one that involves checking two speakers against each other and the other has to do with two lies canceling out each other and lying about lying.

Yve calls the group together to figure out the details of how to make a half remembered answer actually work. After a little while Tolstoy, Yve and Airinieska think they have a decent enough question. It won't necessarily help if both paths are dangerous but in that case they're in trouble already.

If I asked you whether the door to my right leads to triumph would you say yes?

Yve asks the statue clearly. Despite all the theorizing her heart's still beating too fast at the thought that she could be wasting the one clue they have.

[byzantineblue]

"YES" the statue shouts in a deep, grinding voice and without moving whatsoever.

[DontEvenAsk]

Wrong foot it is, then. And her tone, ouch. 'Extremely clear and transparent', hmm? Honest? Perhaps that would be best. He prefers to be oblique, he realizes, a fact he's been taking for granted and never noticing since he woke up. But that seems unlikely to work. His other options are meager. He supposes she could try to pretend to change her tune, but he's good enough at these games that that would take time the group probably doesn't have. And considering he's already gotten fairly used to her running around in her smallclothes, the myriad angles she could try with that are likely to get her only a wry smile. No, they must be honest. He'd much rather be out of this place, but he's forced to admit to himself that their captor wants them to work together, and they need communication for that.

Amalan follows Yve as she approaches the statue, at a polite distance - though by whose standards of politeness, of course, he also can't recall. He doesn't involve himself in the deliberation over the question. Best to give the woman her moment of glory.

"You misunderstand," he murmurs, just loudly enough for her to hear, after the statue's answer and an appropriate pause. "I want no disagreement."

He takes another moment to allow for her reaction and continues. "I cannot fault you for explaining all pertinent information. You were in a room with four people you knew nothing about. For all you knew I might be completely ignorant. In taking precautions, I'm afraid you inadvertently wounded my pride." He smiles crookedly, almost sheepishly. "I acted badly, and for that I cry your pardon. I sought to clarify the boundaries of my knowledge and foster further communication, but I was upset, and spoke inexcusably." 'Inexcusably'... not strictly true to him, but since he knows many people would consider it inexcusable, it's also not a lie. "As I said, I respect your independence. I, too, am loath to depend on others. I merely saw my suggested course of action as... less of a dependence and more a use of all the tools at my disposal. I take no fault with our difference of opinion there. However, like it or not, our captors have made us dependent on each other. I hate it. I am sure you hate it. But we must communicate and cooperate until we escape this place. I know you know this; I wish you to understand that I know it too, and would like to begin my interactions with you anew."

He turns to the statue. "Ahh, I think I see what you're doing. I was... someone has taught me this problem. I don't recall who, but I doubt I could have solved it on my own. It's a chokepoint, correct? No matter which statue this is, it will give the same answer?"

[Barbarian MD]

Tolstoy

"Thank you.

Turning to the others, "Shall we then?" Unless the others object, he yanks the door open and strides through.

[byzantineblue]

The right door leads to a gently curving corridor, lit by torches, with a blue carpet across the floor. You can see about a hundred feet down it, but beyond that, the curve takes it out of sight.

[Barbarian MD]

Tolstoy pushes forward, watching for danger.