Escape from Castle Amber - IC

[GimliFett]

Oberon

With a slight snicker, the faetouched turns back towards the others. "Beer. Wine. Meh. Alcohol is alcohol, unless it's faewine. Now, that's a drink, I must say!" Oberon turns slightly, back towards Lord Amber. "Those lights are an interesting effect, saer. What are they, exactly?"

[Proven_Paradox]

Duran holds his hand up to the others as they leave for the kitchen and opens his mouth to say something, but they're gone before he has a chance. He thinks to himself, "Suppose I'll have ta stay sober fer th' rest of 'em tonight. Better remind them that we're not exactly here to enjoy ourselves either..."

He hangs back, interested in hearing the answers to Oberon's question.

OOC:

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I take it Duran can't figure anything out about the Magen? Not even how they're constructed and such?

[Toliudar]

Duran:

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Duran can confirm that they definitely are constructs. They don't seem to be stitched together from dead bodies, the way a flesh golem is. Other than that, it's not clear how they're made.

Jean Louis smiles at Oberon's question.

The lights? Well, I suppose you'd have to ask them?

Tyz, Jonah and Erelith head on through the closed door, and find themselves at one end of a massive dining hall. The hall is in an advanced state of decay. There are once-lovely double doors half-way up the left wall, accessed by a pair of sweeping staircases, with ornate bannisters. At the far end of the room, perhaps a hundred feet away, there is a closed door, similarly gilt and ornate. On the right wall are a number of large windows, all showing nothing but grey fog beyond.

As the three watch, the double doors open, and pairs of nobles in fine - if slightly old-fashioned - garments sweep down the stairs. As they enter, the appearance of the dining room changes dramatically. It seems pristine and new, with a clean white table-cloth set with fine china and ornate pewter goblets and service. The chairs, which had seem threadbare and rickety, now gleam with gilt and polish.[/spoiler]

[jameswilliamogle]

Erelith

Erelith pushes forward to sit at the end of the table closest to where they entered (assuming there's not placecards). He also recognizes illusion when he sees it, and actively tries to disbelieve the falsity. He whispers to the group:

"Don't tell our host, but I don't think this is real..."

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Will Save: (1d20+4)[18]

[GimliFett]

Oberon

With a nod and a bow to Lord Amber, Oberon turns and addresses the lights with a grin. "What, pray tell, are you, if I may be so bold?" he inquires.

[Toliudar]

The lights dim slightly as Oberon approaches, and brighten at his question. A voice comes from the direction of the lights at his question. A cultured and aristocratic voice.

I am Charles d'Amberville. And you, sir?

Erelith heads towards the dinner table, and discovers that there are indeed placecards. The last of the aristocratic couples enter, and a quick head count show twelve couples. A similar count shows that there are twenty-nine places set at the table. As he gets closer, the wizard is somewhat startled to discover his name on the card at the head of the table, with the names of his four companions clustered around him. The couples seem to be ignoring him, but are chatting amongst themselves in a hub-bub of archaic language.

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Erelith does indeed notice a faint shimmer to the aristocratic couples that suggests that they are either an illusion or insubstantial. Does he still wish to sit at the table? And if so, at his place, or another?

Jonah, with his keen ear for language, is able to make out a few of the words of the old form of the common tongue. They seem to be gossiping about goings on at court, and the latest foxhunt.

[jameswilliamogle]

Erelith

Wearily, he approaches his placecard at the table, and sits down. A furrow on his soot-covered and sunburned brow indicates that there is something very suspicious about all of this...

[GimliFett]

Oberon

Oberon bows with courtly grace. "Oberon of the Seelie Court, also of the House d'Stonemaison." he offers. "Pardon my ignorance, but how did you come to your present...situation? Status?" the faetouched adds with a disarming smile.

[Proven_Paradox]

Duran seems somewhat surprised that Oberon received the answer he did. He looks to Jean Louis and asks, "All th' assembled... ah... spectators are other members of th' d'Amberville line?"

[Diarmuid]

Jonah

The bard did not really know what to make of all this. Whatever the current situation, there was some serious magic going on here. Floating light eye-things, impressive magical constructs...and now what he hoped was a very elaborate illusion.

With that in mind, he tried to focus his mind and will himself to see through the magic and bring the image of the dingy, empty room back.

[North]

Tyz

The hell? Things just keep getting stranger and stranger....

[Toliudar]

The voice that seems to go with the red eyes/lights is playful, and it's not clear whether the misunderstanding is deliberate.

Well, I come by my status by birthright, sir. The d'Ambervilles have always been of good blood.

The eyes seem to brighten slightly.

And you, sir, are an equally interesting specimen. How, if I may ask, did you come by your current status?

At Duran's question, two of the pairs of eyes seem to look at each other. Jean Louis glances back at the dwarf.

Well, did you think that we'd let just anyone participate? Now, if you're still hungry, you'd better hurry in.

Jonah, in the doorway, is able to get an image of the decayed room back in his eye, underneath the image of the finery. The two versions of reality seem to fade in and out of each other.

Erelith settles cautiously at the head of the table. His chair creaks, but then seems to become more solid. The slightly-translucent couples are settling at the table, still chatting gaily with each other.

[GimliFett]

Oberon

The faetouched chuckles. "Well said, saer. Well said. Oberon sees that the others seem to be leaving and nods. "My status comes from a lost nobleman who happened upon a nymph. The relationship grew into love while the man lived amongst the fae, and the couple had a half-fae son. Eventually the nobleman became a member of the Court until a rival damaged his standing and had him returned to his own world."

Oberon sighed and seemed to fidget somewhat with the ring on his right hand. "My grandmother was the nymph, and their child my father. This ring was a momento of their union," he says as he holds the be-ringed hand out for the d'Amberville to see.

After a moment, Oberon brightens and smiles broadly. "I managed to track down the nobleman's family and prove my blood, and through a couple of misadventures we have arrived here, though we know not how. Does your family often have visitors, Lord Charles?"

[Toliudar]

The lights come close to examine Oberon's ring, then back up again. There is a note of weariness in Charles' voice as he responds.

I thank you for your candour, sir. What you see is merely a projection of myself. We get so very few visitors...now...and we were eager to see you. Perhaps you'll come say hello after dinner? I'm in the north wing. For now, though, I must rest. My poor sister...

The lights wink out. As if taking their cue from him, the other lights begin to do so as well, one at a time. One seems to wink at Tyz before it is extinguished.

[GimliFett]

Oberon

Though the manifestation seems to have departed, the faetouched warlock bows in acknowledgement. "A very interesting place indeed," he comments to anyone who will listen. Turning back to the others, he asks, "Shall we join the others for dinner?"

[North]

Tyz

So wheres the beer? Tyz asks to no one in particular as he sits down at the table.

[Diarmuid]

Jonah

The bard seemed lost in his thoughts as he moved closer to the table near Erelith.

Ok, so this is some kind of illusion. But from what I know of illusion, if you think it's real...it can be just as harmful, real, and deadly in the right application. Just have to keep reminding myself none of this is real, and I should be OK.

Shaking his head a bit, he is somewhat surprised to see a place card with his name on it. Picking it up, he runs his fingers over the material...marveling at how real it feels in his hands.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he sits and begins speaking quite candidly with Erelith, and loud enough for anyone else of their group in the room to hear.

"Well, I'm stumped as to what is going on. But, if you havent figured it out yet, this is all some kind of grand illusion. That there are place cards with our names would suggest some form of enchantment put upon us, so our minds are giving a familiar feel to the illusion to make it seem more real. Or we have been questioned or divined in some way so information about us could be discerned in the crafting of the illusion, still with the intent to make it all easier for our minds to accept as real."

Pulling his pack from his back, he removes a scroll case and rummages through the stack of papers in there. Selecting a few, he rolls them up tightly and sticks them behind his belt next to his dagger sheathe before capping and returning the case to his pack, which he rests on the ground next to his chair.

[ooc] Silence, and Protection from Evil [/ooc]

[Toliudar]

Jean Louis has now climbed into the boxing ring, and murmurs a word that seems to reactivate the magen. He seems to have completely lost interest in you.

Tyz finds his place at the table, and hops into the seat. The seat is initially uncomfortable, but seems to rise up slightly and even out as he settles in.

Jonah also gets comfortable next to Erelith, and prepares his papers as the guests begin to prepare themselves for the meal. His words, and indeed all three at the table, are completely ignored by the other guests.

Seeming to come from somewhere in the air above the table, a small silvery bell chimes three times in quick succession.

[North]

Tyz

So your saying that there isnt actually going to be beer? the halfling summarizes. Damn... I could really use some about now.

[Proven_Paradox]

Duran looks up as he hears the bell, and quietly asks himself, "What was 'at?" After a moment of contemplation, he seems to snap back and remember Oberon's query. "Er... Aye, I suppose we might as well..." He still seems troubled by the entire situation.

[Toliudar]

As the guests' conversation begins to die down to a quiet series of murmurs along the table, the bell rings out again, with two short peals.

[ooc: As I understand it, Erelith, Tyz and Jonah are sitting at the table, and Oberon and Duran are still in the room with the boxing ring. Seem accurate?]

[GimliFett]

Oberon

Placing a comforting hand on the dwarf's shoulder, Oberon smiles."Oui, let's join the others. 'Twouldn't be appropriate to delay our host, non?" he replies. His non-chalance is palpable, it seems as if he's been in similar situations before, and given where and amongst whom he grew up, he might have.

[Proven_Paradox]

((OOC: Sounds right to me.))

Duran begins walking with Oberon to the dining hall. The bell's ringing seems to bother him even more the second time he hears it. He turns to his friend and says, "So, what do you think 'a this? We're obviously trapped 'ere, but we're bein' treated as guests instead a' prisoners... Th' whole think has me worried."

[GimliFett]

Oberon

The faetouched nods, but his smile doesn't waver. "Just keep an eye out, pay attention to details. I'm sure things'll become clearer soon enough. In the meantime, play along -- as much as possible, anyway -- and enjoy the show." As the pair enter the dining room, Oberon looks around for anything that wishes to remain hidden.

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See the Unseen is still active.
Search: (1d2+1)[2]
Spot: (1d20+0)[14]

[Toliudar]

Duran and Oberon head through the door into the dining hall, which closes slowly behind them.

Oberon:

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You are of course keenly attuned to illusions, and there are a number at play here. The decrepit and sumptuous versions of the table overlay one another, but in a way more complex than a standard illusion. It's more like the two levels of reality are co-existent. Slightly, but only slightly, analogous to your understanding of the inter-relationship between the fae-realm and the everyday world.

There are no invisible creatures or objects in the room.

[GimliFett]

Oberon

As a degree of realization dawns upon him, Oberon leans down and whispers to Duran. "The food does have a degree of solidity to it. It's as if we were between two separate realities, instead of mere illusion." He straightens and heads to his companions, seeking a seat nearest them, when he notices his own placecard. Gracefully, he slides into his assigned spot.

[Proven_Paradox]

Oberon's words bring a yet-more-puzzled look to his face. "My first guess would have been an illusion, but between two world? How strange." He finds his place at the table and as he sits, he actively tries to disbelieve his situation, just to see what will happen.

Rolls:

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Will save to disbelieve: (1d20+7=19)

[jameswilliamogle]

Erelith

Small fiery explosions pop and sizzle over his head...

[Toliudar]

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To all of you EXCEPT Tyz, the other guests, and the events below have a translucent quality that mark them as having an element of illusion - but aren't completely transparent, which may suggest that there is an elemetn of reality to them as well.

As Duran takes his seat, staring intently and suspiciously at his surroundings, the bell rings once more. Duran and Oberon settle in between a colleague and one of the ghostly guests.

The door you just came through opens, and a dozen servants in clean, pressed livery - like the rest of the clothing here, it is very old-fashioned - enter, carrying trays of food and wine. There are audible clunks as clear decanters of an deep yellow wine are placed around the table. Plates are set in front of all of the guests, the same dish. It seems to be a green salad of some kind, along with roasted button mushrooms.

There is what seems to be genuine warmth and steam rising from the mushrooms, and the smell is delicious - especially after several days on the road, eating Jonah's cooking.

[Proven_Paradox]

Looking down to the semi-translucent mushrooms, Duran is puzzled by the incredible realness of the sort-of-illusion. He gives a deep sign and says, "To worry about it seem useless for now..." He reaches for a mushroom on his plate with a mixture of helplessness and contemplation on his face and attempts to pick it up. Assuming his hand doesn't pass through it, and assuming it's not so hot to severely burn his mouth if he can actually touch it, he will attempt to eat it. (If there's any silverware around he'll attempt to use it instead.)