Serious Plots 7: Why so srs?

[Murkus]

[Riverside Ruins]

"It'd surely be my first candidate," Michalson says, as he crouches down next to the plate. "Catch a skeg around this place while I see just what it is."

He'll examine the plate closely, first through his magic-sight visor and then normally, to spot any enchantments, traps, locks, mechanisms or other surprises.

[Riverside Ruins]

"I can't quite figure out what these old gadgets do. Do you think we should take them anyway?" Jim asks, inspecting them again. The vessel and machine do seem a bit heavy...

"If you have room. There's no telling what we'll find once we are inside and you may need the space on your person. If we get inside," she glances at Michalson, then 'catches a skeg' around the lefthand room with Jim, searching the debris left behind. She sifts her gauntlet through the debris beneath the tent... and comes up with a strange item. An iron scalpel, it would seem, the blade of which is glowing a warm violet. Clearly unnatural. "...Hm."
.
Michalson will observe, with his mundane eyes, that the brass plate appears perfectly smooth and flawless. There is no keyhole, no handle, no hinges...

But beneath the gaze of his goggles, things become much more clear. There is a glamour upon the door... a small one, of a lower order of power than the magic they've seen so far. It would seem whatever enchantment hid this vault has now decayed to only disguise the outer surface, and with Michalson's special gear he can observe that there is indeed a handle that can be turned, set into a deep circular recess. The appearance of a featureless plate is purely an intangible illusion. There is a second niche to the right of door-handle, a small pocket large enough to accommodate a cylindrical vessel...

[Morty]

[Riverside Ruins]

Michalson knows better than to simply open the door as soon as he sees the handle. He examines the other niche, trying to open it or stick a small rod made of magic-resistant metal, the same alloy his sword is inlaid with, into it.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

sorry about the delay, rl issues

Armonia and Tethrik soon approach the last platform, which appears to be smaller than the others. Upon landing on it, the two adventurers will feel the ground sink slightly under their weight, tilting them backwards a bit. "What the......why isn't the rock stable like the other ones?" Armonia asks as he wobbles slightly.

"Because this is MY trial, and to me, BALANCE is EVERYTHING!" Exactly across from Armonia and Tethrik stands a tall woman holding a long black sword in one hand, and a golden set of scales in the other. Her eyes appear to be blindfolded by a simple white cloth, and she wears a toga of the same material. "I am the High Guardian of Air, Scales. You may call me Libra, for I heard you know the old Titles."

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"What is the nature of your trial?" Tethrik wobbles unsteadily. Balance has never been his strong suit.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

"I always determine my challenge based on the challenges my cohorts decided upon. Since you two have faced two challenges of the Mind, I decide it is my duty to give you a challenge of the Body." she points her sword the two challengers. "Your challenge is simple, knock me off Balance, Succeed, and you pass the Trial of Air. As you attempt to strike me from my perfect poise, I will be aiming to cut out your hearts so that I may balance them, to see how heavy with sin they are." While her position hasn't changed, you sense that she has taken a defensive stance. "HAVE AT THEE!"

Armonia draws his sword and takes a battle stance as best he can on the unsteady surface.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik takes another step to test if the island still wobbles. If it does, he looks to Armonia. "This may seem crazy, but I have a plan. Follow my lead."

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

It does indeed wobble, but too little to really tell what is happening to the platform(one can always assume though). Armonia nods in acknowledgement, bracing for whatever is about to happen.

Libra slashes her sword in the air, sending a visible shockwave straight at Armonia and Tethrik. Armonia waits to the last second before jumping out of the way(unless Tethrik cues Armonia, in which case he will follow Tethrik's lead)

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik leaps away much sooner. Once Armonia is back on his feet, he yells "Run! This way!" and dashes towards the edge.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

Armonia dashes to follow Tethrik, barely managing to keep his footing on the moving landscape. Libra watches them for a second, before matching their movement, dashing towards the opposite end of the platform, keeping perfect pace with them. She slashes again, sending another shockwave at them.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

As he runs, Tethrik thinks to himself, There's no way she can match our combined weight. She'd have to be like 700 pounds. This island is going to tip. He's so caught in thought that he doesn't notice the shockwave coming and takes it full on in the back. "Oof!" He falls to the ground near the edge.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Tethrik!" cries Armonia. When he sees Tethrik managing to stay the ground, he stands in front of him, sword poised, to give him time to recover. "You want to fill me in on what is going through your head?" Armonia asks as he slashes down on another shockwave Libra sends.

Libra watches the large one fall at her mighty swing and smirks. She knows what he is trying to do They all do that she thinks. They think they can turn my stage against me so simply. It will be their deaths. She swings again, firing another shockwave, this one impacting against Armonia's sword, deflecting the damage but still blowing strong winds.

The platform, in everyone's current position, remains wobbly. It still hasn't shown significant change.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Alright, that didn't work. I'll hit high, you hit low." Tethrik gets up. "Blessit woman, what're you made of. I should weigh four or five times as much as you. This fight isn't balanced." Tethrik launches tendrils of shadow at Libra, which wrap around her and sap her agility.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

"WRONG! This battle is perfectly BALANCED. Libra says as she blocks the shadowy tendrils with her scales. On contact, the scales seem to absorb the tendrils. It glows slightly black with energy. "If I hadn't matched your weight upon your arrival, this island would have long begun to turn, killing you before the challenge could be set."

Armonia dashes out towards Libra under the writhing tendrils Tethrik fired at her. As he moves, the platform begins to tilt, raising Tethrik up into the air by about a foot. Armonia raises his sword to deflect Linda's next attack, and ends up being knocked on his ass by it.

"Furthermore, as there are two of you, my fighting capabilities are enhanced, in order to balance out the combined abilities the two of you share." Libra thrusts forward her scales, firing back the tendrils at Armonia, though now they are made of radiant light.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

If the tendrils are truly reversed, they should boost Armonia's agility instead of drain it.

Tethrik jumps at Libra, crossing the distance in a flash and hammering at her with a huge fist.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

they probably would have, if Armonia didn't deflect them, the force of the deflection is what knocked him on his rear

The platform tilts heavily towards Libra as Tethrik jumps at her. As soon as she sees this, Libra dashes forward, forcing the floating rock to stabilize some. She gets hit by one of Tethrik's flying punches, which staggers her a bit but does not knock her down. She barely manages to block the remaining punches with her sword, which for Tethrik, is like hitting a brick wall(or whatever incredibly hard and sturdy material it would be for someone with enhanced strength and durability to feel they would break their fingers if they continue punching it).

Armonia barely manages to get back to his feet before falling over again from the sudden surge of movement from their battleground. "You know what....this is getting ridiculous." He says, before turning his burning gaze straight down, focusing it on the platform.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Do you really think you can win, wrestling me? I already beat Lion and Ram this way." Tethrik leaps onto Libra, grasping at her scales, trying to rip them from her grasp. "Hit the legs, now!"

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik successfully grabs a hold of the scales. When he does, he notices the ground begin to crack beneath Armonia. It begins to spread out across the platform, but strangely begins to slow down. Armonia starts to stand, but he too seems to slow down. He gets into a position to dash at Libra when he just stops mid step.

When Tethrik attempts to move himself, he will find that he can't, his body is completely paralyzed. He may look towards Libra, that tiny movement seeming to be the only thing he can manage. If he does, he will see a smug grin frozen on her face, as she remains completely still.

Suddenly, reality seems to shatter like glass, and Tethrik can feel himself falling a great distance. After what feel a like eternity, he will finally crash into a barren wasteland with blood red skies. Tethrik will find his movement returned to him here, and will probably be a little sore, but otherwise unharmed. In the distance, Tethrik may notice a giant wall spanning across the entirety of the wasteland as far as he can see.

"OH MY......SUCH AN UNBALANCED FELLOW......YOU ARE IN COMPLETE DISHARMONY WITH YOURSELF." A voice suddenly bellows from everywhere at once.

[Deathkeeper]

"If you have room. There's no telling what we'll find once we are inside and you may need the space on your person. If we get inside," she glances at Michalson, then 'catches a skeg' around the lefthand room with Jim, searching the debris left behind. She sifts her gauntlet through the debris beneath the tent... and comes up with a strange item. An iron scalpel, it would seem, the blade of which is glowing a warm violet. Clearly unnatural. "...Hm."
.
Michalson will observe, with his mundane eyes, that the brass plate appears perfectly smooth and flawless. There is no keyhole, no handle, no hinges...

But beneath the gaze of his goggles, things become much more clear. There is a glamour upon the door... a small one, of a lower order of power than the magic they've seen so far. It would seem whatever enchantment hid this vault has now decayed to only disguise the outer surface, and with Michalson's special gear he can observe that there is indeed a handle that can be turned, set into a deep circular recess. The appearance of a featureless plate is purely an intangible illusion. There is a second niche to the right of door-handle, a small pocket large enough to accommodate a cylindrical vessel...

[Riverside Ruins]

Michalson knows better than to simply open the door as soon as he sees the handle. He examines the other niche, trying to open it or stick a small rod made of magic-resistant metal, the same alloy his sword is inlaid with, into it.

[Riverside Ruins]

Jim comes out to Michalson, holding the vessel and the 'camera.' "Find anything? I'm not sure what to do with this stuff."

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Shoulda gone for the sword." Tethrik mutters. Once he hears Libra speak, he shouts to her, "Oh yeah? Tell me something I didn't know."

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

"I KNOW HOW TO BRING YOU BACK TO BALANCE.......WITHOUT REVERTING YOU TO YOUR TRUE NATURE."

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"What? I don't understand." Tethrik is not aware of his alignment shift, so he doesn't understand Libra's comment.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik feels the ground underneath him shift. He will see the landscape zoom past at incredible speeds. If he looks behind him, he will see the wall growing larger and larger as he quickly approaches it.

When he arrives he will notice the wall looks like a decaying mess. Its a hodgepodge of bone, metal, and wood, held together by bolts, ropes and various adhesives. Red water leaks at various points, scorching the ground whenever a drop hits. In the upper corner, he can see a figure working on the wall, and if he looks closely, he will recognize it as himself, but worn and exhausted.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Why are you showing me this? What do you want?" Tethrik sees himself but pays him no mind. He's just a phantom in the elaborate illusion.

[Murkus]

[Riverside Ruins]

Jim comes out to Michalson, holding the vessel and the 'camera.' "Find anything? I'm not sure what to do with this stuff."

[Riverside Ruins]

Michalson knows better than to simply open the door as soon as he sees the handle. He examines the other niche, trying to open it or stick a small rod made of magic-resistant metal, the same alloy his sword is inlaid with, into it.

The niche is open and empty, having no other compartments within. It's simply a cylindrical indentation in the door, with what looks like a receiving port at the bottom to take in... a fluid? An electrical or magical charge, perhaps.

Eschelle presents the scalpel to them. "All that I found was this."

[Morty]

[Riverside Ruins]

Michalson takes the scalpel.

"This 'ere is our way down, right enough. But there's somethin' else that I can't get the dark of." He turns the scalpel over in his hands. He pushes the goggles up onto his forehead and examines the scalpel through a small lens. This will require a more precise instrument. "A cylinder, for something to flow through. But I can't say what."

[Deathkeeper]

[Riverside Ruins]

Jim places the vessel down nearby.
"Like this one? Maybe it's supposed to take some fuel. Oil, water, blood, some magical sort of thing." he suggests.

[ChaoticHarmony]

cyclopean ruins

"why are you showing me this? What do you want?" tethrik sees himself but pays him no mind. He's just a phantom in the elaborate illusion.

"what i desire is balance! I show you this because you have touched my scales while being unbalanced! And this is no illusion, this is your subconscious! Do you not recognize the self you wish to be?"

[Murkus]

[Riverside Ruins]

If Michalson checks, the vessel does look as though it would fit the niche. The scalpel is comparably very complex... there is a series of broken, unsettling sigils rendered in miniature across the blade with impossible precision. This is foul magic... a wicked tool meant for cutting a person more deeply than in their physical flesh.

"Perhaps something more in Sticks' venue," says Eschelle, though she isn't certain what...

The lady's head perks up suddenly. She picks up her hammer from nearby, where she had left it leaning against a wall. "Do you hear that?" She asks the men.

There is a sound of struggling and labored breathing emerging from within the black crevice on the right-hand side of the cave. A person pushed to exhaustion, heaving themselves forth with an ugly drag-thump as they move and give out over and over again in an agonizing cycle. The sound grows closer and closer still.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Who, that loser? I don't want to be haggard and worn down, I want to stand proudly over the corpses of my enemies, to find out what's in the blessed box." Tethrik doesn't see the worn-out vision of himself as ideal.

[Morty]

Riverside Ruins

The combination of the scalpel's nature and the sudden sound is enough to put even a seasoned adventurer on edge.

"I can hear it alright," he whispers. "There shouldn't be anything alive in here." He stands up, hiding his tools and exchanging them for his sword and revolver.