Dark's Age of Worms IC

[Othniel]

Corinne

"Back into the windy tunnel then?" Corinne asked Louise. "I'll go with you and catch us in case we get blown off again."

[PepperP.]

"I guess I'd better stay down here..." Simone smiled weakly, embarrassed by her last disastrous foray into the wind tunnel.

"Give us a yell when its all clear so we can join you. And be careful."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

"And, of course, I will need to be the one in charge of disarming the traps themselves, so I am also going back up."

[TheDarkDM]

Your course set, the party returns tot he sarcophagus chamber at the center of the cairn. The hallway of the blue lantern looms ominously as you proceed down it, the old bones beneath the lantern chain casting queer shadows in the lamplight. Beyond the edge of the light, the way up to the face in the darkness awaits.

Spoiler: OOC

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It's a DC 15 Climb check to get up to the face.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

Having now arrived back at the hallway, Louise pulled out her rope from her pack and began to tie knots into it. Once this was completed, she offered it to the group, along with her hammer and a piton.

"Climbing is not my specialty, unfortunately. The best of us at that should try to go up and tie this off. Then the rest of us can go on up there."

[TheDarkDM]

Eager to uncover the last of the Cairn's mysteries, Rae volunteers to ascend the chain once again. Battle-tempered muscles make short work of the ascent, and she once more affixes a grapple to the ancient stone and lowers knotted rope for the less athletic among the party.

[Tychris1]

Ascending the rope Cordellia looked down at the others then over to Rae and finally at the screaming face at the end of the hall. "If things go less than idealized I'll be sure to secure you, Corinne. We elves don't just leave each other to get stuck in traps afterall." She sarcastically remarked as she dangled her svelte legs over the ledge and looked down at the other two climbing up after her.

[Othniel]

Corinne

Giving the other woman a noncommittal grunt, Corinne took her turn with the rope, climbing slowly to the top. She stood eyeing the hallway with great distrust.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

Steeling herself, Louise climbed up the rope, ready to face the hallway that had once conquered her. At the top, she took a deep breath, then took a look around the hallway, and in particular at the floor, trying to see if there were any other things she had missed last time. Then, carefully, she advanced up the hallway, taking a minute to check each floor tile.

Spoiler: Actions

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Rolling Search to try and see if there are any other traps/pressure plates besides the ones I triggered last time.

Search: (1d20+9)[19]

Then I'm going to take 20 on Search at each tile to double check it for traps as I move closer to the face.

[TheDarkDM]

A cursory examination by Louise fails to even account for the presence of the triggered pressure plate, let alone further traps. However, as the factotum creeps forward she eventually reaches a grooved seam in the floor, nearly invisible beneath the dust and grime of ages. The screaming face looms not fifteen feet away, its blank eyes betraying none of the rainbow mandala Louise knew to be lurking behind the trap's trigger.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

"Okay. I've found the pressure plate I stepped on last time. It doesn't look like there's anything else." She turned back to the others. "Rather than risk setting off the wind again by disarming the plate, I'm going to gently mark it with some charcoal and try to disarm the face itself. Regardless, you might want to duck down onto the rope until I'm done. This could get rough."

She then knelt down and pulled out her tools...

Spoiler: Actions

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Louise gently marks the floor where the plate is with some charcoal, then steps around it and attempts to disarm the face itself.

Disable Device: (1d20+9)[15]

[TheDarkDM]

No sooner has Louise set to disarming the stone face than her heel turns after a bad step. She stumbles, catching herself too late to avoid the dire click of the pressure plate. Once again, the stone edifice explodes in a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors as its eyes bathe the corridor in befuddling light. The graven mouth seems to stretch wide, and wind begins to blow.

Spoiler: OOC

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Corinne, Cordellia, and Louise must make DC 13 Will Saves or be paralyzed.

[Tychris1]

Stuck at the far end of the tunnel Cordellia placed her hand firmly against her face as the mouth released another torrent of magic followed by a gust of wind. Shaking her head, she looked back down the hole to shout to the others "Remember me marvelously!" before kicking her heels against the hard stone below in a full run. Holding her hat firmly against the strong winds she placed her free gloved hand on Corinne's shoulder, gripped it with all the strength of iron clad snark, and shouted into her paralyzed ear "Maybe it's just the wind but I'm smelling a whole heaping mound of ironic bull**** flushing down this hall don't you think my witty bard?"

Bringing her to the edge she looked down once more to shout "If they don't snap out I'm gonna kick her and grab Louise! Gently catch her please!"

[TheDarkDM]

The wind only strengthened as Cordellia dragged the frozen Corinne back towards the lip of the shaft, leaving the bard scant inches from a lethal fall. Trapped within their bodies, she and Louise could only struggle against the sorcerous power of Wind Lords long dead.

Spoiler: OOC

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Corinne and Louise get another DC 13 Will Save to break free.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

"Boccob damn it -"

Louise had barely had time to utter a curse as she triggered the plate yet again before it held her in place. Frozen for six seconds, it was enough to get the wind blowing again, but, exerting her will, she was finally able to break free.

"Run for it!"

Spoiler: Actions

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Apparently it takes a whole turn to snap out, so I don't take any action.

[Tychris1]

"Oh how I love situations like these. Don't you my sweet? The rapier wit, the wittier rap? Something or the other," She mockingly tapped a finger against Corinne's chest as if to push her over. Playfully sidestepping her and walking to the ledge Cordellia stuck a leg out over the ledge as if to fall over and leave her, did an incredibly obvious stoptake at the bard, and then swept her arm in an exaggerated arc ending with an aggrandized hand accentuating an expression of mock shock "Oh I almost forgot! How silly of me." Grabbing her waist and arm Cordellia arrayed Corinne like a ballroom dancer and swept her off her feet in one solid motion stepping out over the precipice of the ledge. Golden flowing locks of hair billowing and whipping about madly as a pompous smirk instantly sliced its way across her incredibly up close face.

"Drinks are unquestionably on you," She whispered cattily "What a fine wizardly tale this will make."

[TheDarkDM]

Louise snaps out of her stupor just in time to see Cordellia hurl herself and Corinne into the void. From below, the rest of the party watches as the magic in the wizard's ring takes hold, arresting her descent even as she strains to keep hold of the bard's not inconsiderable weight. Meanwhile, back in the trapped corridor, Louise finally begins to struggle as the wind becomes truly tempestuous.

Spoiler: OOC

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Louise must make a DC 18 Fortitude Save or be knocked prone.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

Planting her feet firmly and straining against the wind, Louise somehow managed to keep upright. Rushing forward, she hurried back to the rope as best she could.

Spoiler: Actions

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Louise will head back to the rope as much as she can, and get on it if actions allow.

[Tychris1]

As the Evoker looked up to see the trap continuing its effective art, she noticed Louise safely ensconcing herself from the roaring winds, and neatly placed her hat back over her head. Appraising the stunned bard before her she steepled her fingers and smiled in mischievous fey delight. Her prying digits however were quickly interrupted by Simone’s non-secular protestations of correct and dignifiable behavior.

Rolling her eyes hard enough to summon a Tenser’s Floating Disk Cordellia gave the Cleric a simmering narrow lidded glare before running off back to the various lanterns.

”You’re such a fuddy duddy!” She cried back “Check on my factotum and get that rope back up when I return; I want to test something!”

And with that she went to retrieve all of the colored lanterns from their respective niches.

[PepperP.]

Simone kneeled down to keep guard by her friend and looked at the prone figure once Cordelia was out of ear shot.

"I'll take being a fuddy duddy over being a 200 year old juvenile delinquent any day."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Reynauld was relieved to see the three ladies return from the treacherous wind tunnel safely. However, as the wizard went to gather the lanterns, the crusader spoke up.

"Miss Cordellia, hold a moment if you would. I recall the mural near the entrance to this room depicted all of the lanterns hanging in their alcoves lit. Perhaps if we try lighting the lanterns in their proper niches, that strange rainbow will be appeased?"

Spoiler: OOC

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If this sounds like a good idea, we can bust out oil, torches, or candles and light'em up light'em up light'em up light'em up.

[Tychris1]

”I am in quite literally every sense of the word ahead of you Reynauld!” Cordellia’s voice faintly echoed in the distance before being dwarfed by the sound of fire and gleeful laughter.

Spoiler: OOC

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There are no breaks on the glamor train bitch.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

Spoiler: OOC

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This post is made under the assumption that I understood Dark correctly and Louise can move out of harm's way.

Climbing quickly down the ladder, Louise plopped back down to the floor, a somewhat miserable look on her face.

"Well, that was an utter failure on my part." She looked around at the sound of Cordellia's voice echoing down to them. "I take it Cordellia's had an idea?"

[CockroachTeaParty]

With all of the lanterns lit, Reynauld climbed the chain and affixed the rope once more so that others might have an easier time of it. He had never actually seen the strange face before, and gazed down at it with mistrust.

"Now that the lanterns are lit as depicted in that fresco, do you wish to try the trap once more, Miss Louise? Perhaps you could borrow Cordellia's ring, and make the attempt on your own to minimize the risk?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Louise

"That seems as good a plan as any." Louise turned to Cordellia. "Would you mind terribly?"

Assuming Cordellia said yes, Louise went up above and reattempted to pass by the face.

Spoiler: OOC

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Holding off on any rolls until we see what happens.

[TheDarkDM]

Moving from lantern to lantern, Cordellia deposits a modicum of lamp-oil in deceptively deep bowls before setting them alight. It seems a mundane enough task, but with the first flame lit the chamber comes alive. Lattices of reflective quartz and veins of silver embedded in the ceiling of every tunnel transform the lantern light into dizzying forests of color. With each successive lantern, the central chamber grows brighter and more vibrantly alive, the colors playing off each other in a starscape of reflective treasures running to the apex of the dome. The final lantern completes the transformation of the stone in the room, bathing the chamber in an aurora of rainbow light that shivers and breathes with a life of its own. It is beautiful, but seems to herald no greater change in the cairn. However, intent on answering the riddle of the face in the wall, Reynauld girds himself and ascends the heavy chain a third time. Reaching the murderous tunnel, the light from his sunrod finally reveals a good sign - the stone of the face's gaping maw has entirely vanished, uncovering a passage leading further into the ruin.

[Tychris1]

"A ring? From moi? Well that's uncharacteristically forward of you Louise. What would Master think? Ah but who cares anyway!" Cordellia said as she triumphantly returned from the multicolored phantasmagoria of the main chamber. Bending down on one knee she dramatically flipped her hair back, slid her ring off of her finger, and grasped Louise's hand to bestow the magical item upon her in a marital fashion. Grinning ear to ear she sprung to her feet with a click clack of her heels and quickly tip tapped her way to the knotted rope in haste to join Reynauld. Looking down the corridor now vacant of the gaping maw, Cordellia struck her divining diva pose, and with a quick rat-a-tat-tat of her cane she proceeded luxuriously towards her unlocked prize.

Spoiler: MAGIC

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I cast Detect Magic once I climb to the top and Shield when I get to where the door-face was.

[CockroachTeaParty]

"I see no stone face," Reynauld called down to the others, "Let us hope that means it is safe to proceed."

The crusader took the lead as the group made its way down the tunnel, sunrod in hand.
"This was the most defended section of the cairn so far... there must be a reason for that!"

[TheDarkDM]

Through the gaping mouth at the end of the hallway is a long, dark room with no floor. A three-foot-wide beam of petrified wood spans the chasm, leading straight ahead into darkness. About ten feet below the beam, countless iron spheres the size of large oranges form an irregular floor, but it’s impossible to tell if they represent a wholly solid surface. The northwest and southeast walls are covered in a honeycomb of geometric patterns. The featureless stone ceiling extends about twenty feet from the beam.

Spoiler: Reynauld, Simone, and Corinne

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Approaching the newly uncovered room, you could swear you hear the faint sound of giggling from the darkness beyond. But then it is gone. Perhaps a trick of the wind?

[CockroachTeaParty]

Reynauld gripped his maul, taking a defensive stance.
"Something isn't right here. This smells of a trap to me. One would be quite exposed, balancing on this beam. Miss Louise, would you dare to risk searching for a trap? If not, I will volunteer my own body to test this room's defenses."