DM Kathy Thursday March 29th, 2012 12:08:57 AM
The corridor ends in a doorway. You take the appropriate precautions, then open the door and move into the room beyond.
The door slides shut behind you, leaving no seam or other indication that it is there. In contrast to the rough, natural tunnels and chambers you have been traveling, this room is clearly man-made. The room is round, and about 50 feet in diameter. The floor is white marble. A delicate, wrought-brass rail circles the room about 5 feet from the wall. Breaks in the rail accommodate four sets of shallow steps, leading to a sunken area in the middle of the chamber. Directly in the center of the floor is some kind of circular seal or glyph.
The walls are covered with murals, beautifully painted. On the wall behind you is a woodland scene, with elves, dryads, sprites, pixies, fauns, nymphs, and several forest creatures. The scene looks both peaceful and magical.
To your left, the woodland scene blends into a twilight scene set in a clearing. In this scene, several wemics take their ease next to a pool, while a minotaur and a centaur appear to be consulting one another about the stars, which are just beginning to shine in the purple light.
To your right, the scene shifts to a bustling port town, where tall-masted ships are being unloaded. Humans, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes all go about their business, smiling and occasionally waving to one another.
On the wall opposite you, a blue dragon is depicted on a desert mountaintop. Unlike the other scenes, which showed people and creatures in sociable, cooperative groups, the dragon stands alone.
Above the murals, the walls meet an ornate, domed ceiling.
[A closer examination of some of the room's features may yield more information.]
Wilma AC16/12/14 (chain shirt); HP18/20 d20+8=22 ; d20+1=10 ; Thursday March 29th, 2012 8:47:00 PM
"How do you leave a room with no exit...?" Wilma mused out loud, looking around her and marveling at the craftsmanship of the paintings and the handrail. OOC: Perception check totals 22. Her brother squinted for a moment, pursing his lips as he attempted to think. Suddenly Grell's mask of contemplation turned into an expression of enthusiasm.
"You make one by pounding a hole in the wall..!" he announced brightly, turning back towards the mural with the woodland scene, eyeballing the surface as his hand tightened on the pommel of his sword.
"Uhhhh..." Wilma was temporarily at a loss for words before she managed to respond: "...well, look for an outline of a door, then--you wouldn't want to dull your sword if you really don't have to..." She waited until Grell turned his attention towards looking for a tell-tale outline before returning to her own inspection of the room.
Benedict Carver - AC 18/14/14 - HP 27/27 d20+4=19 ; d20+11=13 ; Thursday March 29th, 2012 9:00:59 PM
Carver furrows his brow as the door closes behind them. He shrugs. "Don't worry. I can easily get past that door if need be, but obviously we are meant to travel in this direction." He takes a look around the room, examining the murals in close detail.
Perception check 19 Knowledge (local) check 13, to identify the figures in the mural Cast detect magic as much as needed
Emrys (ac14, hp14) d20+8=18 ; d20+8=26 ; d20+8=26 ; d20+8=17 ; d20+8=22 ; d20+8=15 ; Thursday March 29th, 2012 9:56:46 PM
"I wouldn't trust that if we were to reopen the door that we would find the same corridor on the other side."
Emrys releases F'aast and urges him to sit down at his feet . The bard then turns his attention to the murals and then the glyph in the center of the room. He first examines the mural of the forest and fey, it reminds him of his home in Culverheart (Perception 18). He then looks at the taurs scrutinizing the evening's stars (Perception 26). Emrys does the same with the port town (Perception 26), and finally his gaze turns to the blue dragon (Perception 17) and he tries to remember what he had learned about them (Knowledge [Arcane]: 22 vs. blue dragons, which is good enough to recall details about blue dragons up to 7 Hit Die.)
While the bard ponders these wonders, he begins to theorize as details become apparent to him. "It is quite possible these are scenes are the history of the Wold." Pointing at the forest scene, he adds, "This very well could be the cradle of the Wold, where the elves and other fey first came into existence. The next scene involving the taurs could be their discovery of Astrology and their mapping of the stars." Emrys turns to the port town and explains, "And look here, the introduction of humans, dwarves and so on. Life begins to wander the world. We progress our understanding and culture through adventure and discovery, along with the expansion of commerce." Finally, the bard comments on the blue dragon. "This scene perplexes me! It's out of place. Maybe a revelation of a time yet to come!"
(Knowledge [History]: 15, Emrys tests this theory against his knowledge of history)
Lastly, Emrys observes the glyph in the center of the room and attempts to discern if it's magical or not. (Cast Detect Magic and looks at the glyph.)
Emrys (ac14, hp14) Thursday March 29th, 2012 10:03:18 PM
(ooc: Line correction. This is what I meant to say. I so miss having editing privileges.)
"I wouldn't trust, if the door were reopened, that we'd find the same corridor on the other side."
DM Kathy Friday March 30th, 2012 12:13:00 AM Grell attempts to use his own unique problem-solving skills on the puzzle, but Wilma is able to dissuade him.
Carver and Emrys both detect for magic. There is magic present, and it seems to encompass the entire room. It is quite sophisticated, and it is difficult to tell the exact type.
Carver looks at the murals. He can tell right away that whoever painted the port-city scene had no good opinion of humans, dwarves, halflings, or gnomes. A close examination reveals that they all have rather vacuous expressions, sporting dopey grins or expressions of slack-jawed bewilderment.
Emrys notes that the wemic and fey panels, though more flattering than the port-city one, also take subtle digs at their subjects. They fey look sillier, and the taurs more brutish, than most do in real life. By contrast, the dragon in the last mural looks noble and brave.
Then Emrys examines the seal in the center of the room. It is actually a series of glyphs, set in a circle. The start and end place is fairly obvious, so it is easy to copy the glyphs into a straight line.
Of course, there's no telling what they mean....
Vaniime AC 18/14/14, HP:15/15 d20+10=19 ; d20+10=26 ; d20+10=11 ; d20+10=11 ; d20+10=11 ; d20+10=23 ; Friday March 30th, 2012 6:44:46 AM
Vanime see that everyone seems to be focussing on the murals so decides to first check out the railing and then the step setions (without stepping onto any of them).
Railing DCs 19 and 26
Steps 11 (Natural 1), 11 (Natural 1), 11 (Natural 1) and 23 (if I am still alive)
(OOC: Geesh how many natural 1s can I roll?)
Wilma AC16/12/14 (chain shirt); HP18/20 Friday March 30th, 2012 10:14:54 AM
Wilma tilted her head, ignoring the sounds of Grell knocking on this part of the wall or that in his effort to discover a hidden outline to a door. She concentrated on the circular message, noticing that some of the glyphs were repeated...
"Definitely a coded message!" the cleric said, pointing to some of the pictographs. "I'll bet that each symbol corresponds to a letter in the alphabet..." She frowned as she pondered. "I could swear I've seen something like this before, though...how did it go...?" The redhead's fair brow furrowed as she tried to remember. "I think...let's see...the most often used letters are supposed to be R, S, T and...uh...N..? If I'm recalling this right, then the most frequent vowels are E and A..." She dug around in her backpack and pulled out a piece of parchment that was supposed to be for her future ability to scribe scrolls, as well as breaking out her quill and some ink, and soon the sound of the sharpened quill tip scratching along the parchment's surface filled the chamber as a counterpoint to Grell's continued probing.
"Let's see..." she reasoned out loud as she looked at the symbols, "...that first symbol is set off by itself at the start of the sequence...and it appears by itself over here, just about in the middle of the line...there are two vowels that can make up single letter words: A and I...so let's see what happens when I substitute A for the symbol..." After much harrumphing and writing and crossing out what had been written and rewriting and more rewriting, Wilma cried out in triumph:
"Ahhh HAH! I think I've got it..!" she announced, holding out the mostly-full paper that now held scribblings of all kinds on it. Wilma pointed to a relatively legible section. "I believe that this glyph--with its symbols--is the coded riddle we need to solve. I think the riddle is:
"I have a bed but do not sleep I follow the sun but have no feet..."
The cleric of Gargul looked from the paper to the faces of the people around her and back again.
"...and I have NO idea what in the Wold that means..!"
That riddle sound like it is describing a garden of some sort. You know beds of plants, and they follow the sun and plants don't have feet.
Emrys (ac14, hp14) d20+8=18 ; Friday March 30th, 2012 10:58:44 PM
"Yes, I agree, very good Wilma! You uncovered a riddle."
Emrys ponders a possible answer. After hearing Vaniime's solution, the bard can't help but say, "That's also a really good answer! I was thinking that a river has a bed and never sleeps. Of course, what does a river have to do with following the sun? Unless the river flowed in that direction. Then I had the idea about the Moon following the sun, but what does a bed have to... errr, that's a really good answer, Vaniime." Looking a little aggravated, Emrys just decides to shut up. He always over-thinks things like this.
Emrys takes out a journal and records the glyphs and tries to discern the root language of their origin. Maybe, possibly old draconic! (Linguistics: 18)
DM Kathy Sunday April 1st, 2012 11:46:40 PM Vaniime examines the railings and stairs, but finds no traps.
Wilma pulls out quill and parchment and gets down to work deciphering. At last, she emerges from her work, victorious, with I have a bed but do not sleep I follow the sun but have no feet. And she has no idea what that means.
Vaniime and Emrys offer suggestions. A river? The moon? Plants in a garden? Have they solved the riddle? And if so....what should they do next?
Wilma AC16/12/14 (chain shirt); HP18/20 Monday April 2nd, 2012 12:42:03 AM
"I think it means that the dragon picture is a magic door..." Grell announced suddenly. Wilma looked up from the paper she had been scribbling upon.
"How do you figure that, Little Brother?" she asked curiously.
"Because dragons can sleep anywhere they want," he explained proudly, "Not only in a bed. And they can fly across the sky...you know...? Follow the sun..? AND they can bite the feet off of anything!" He smiled expectantly.
"Ummmm..." Wilma blinked. "Well...that's a good guess...I suppose..." She glanced at the others. "Any...other guesses..? Please...?"
Benedict Carver - AC 18/14/14 - HP 27/27 d20+4=24 ; Monday April 2nd, 2012 10:00:49 AM
Carver scratches his cheek. "The answer could be, 'a flower.' After all, flowers are planted in beds, and a flower turns to face the sun as it arcs across the sky."
The wizard takes a closer look at the pastoral mural, touching and inspecting each flower.
Perception (nat 20) 24
Wilma AC16/12/14 (chain shirt); HP18/20 Monday April 2nd, 2012 7:49:11 PM (second post; this one is actually for Wilma, as it was Grell who did the guessing in the previous post)
"Hmmmm...flowerrrrr..." Wilma repeated Carver's guess, more to herself than to anyone. However, she did address herself to the young wizard as she nodded slowly.
"That makes sense, too," she agreed, "If there doesn't seem to be a flower or something in any of the portraits, perhaps the key to getting out of this room is actually to go down the steps and say the answer to the riddle while you're standing there..?"
Emrys (ac14, hp14) d20+8=21 ; d20+8=25 ; Monday April 2nd, 2012 8:59:26 PM
"Does each of the murals share a specific detail ... like having the same kind of flower?" Emrys scrutinizes each of the murals (Perception 21). "Or then again, maybe it's not a flower we're looking for ... maybe this is the name of Flower, the Goddess of Love (Knowledge [Religion]:25).
The bard begins his tale with a strum of his lute. "Flower, the goddess of love, was born on the day of the First Massacre of Windhorn Hamlet. Every year, the people of the Windhorn hold a grande festival to attract people from all over the realm to travel to the Hamlet and empower the Dragon Sentinels ... the wards that keep the dragons of the bay from invading the peninsula. However, the during that fateful year, a group of BLUE DRAGONS burrowed under the Sentinels while at their weakest state. The brought with them great storms and lightning. The blue dragons wrath resulted in the deaths of every man, woman and child. So driven to rage by the killing, the god of healing, Alemi, intervened and resurrected all who were slain. Caeroldra had always been somewhat obsessed with earthly beauty along with love. The sight of a handsome man struck down in his prime was simply too much for her to bear. She had to console him -- to love him. Soon, Flower was born. Being the consort of Alemi, this act of betrayal led to Caeroldra's fall. A furious Alemi refused Caeroldra to raise the child, and sent Flower back to Windhorn Hamlet to be brought by a spinster."
Emrys continues, "The connection is uncanny! This room possibly commemorates the blue dragon's victory over the sentinels and the Windhorn Hamlet ... even if it was short-lived."
Shaking her head at Grell's contribution to the discussion, Vanime moves her way dwon the stairs to the bottom center area and does as thorough an inspection as she can, Perception DC 16
DM Kathy Monday April 2nd, 2012 11:50:51 PM Grell contributes his own brand of logic, but luckily Wilma is able to dissuade him before he dismantles the dragon mural.
Carver suggests that the answer might be a flower.
As soon as he speaks the word "flower" aloud, you hear a faint whirring sound from the ceiling. From the ornate decoration at the very pinnacle of the dome overhead--shaped, you now realize, as a giant flower--a basket is descending. Its bottom was the center of the flower decoration; it's sides are the same kind of wrought-brass as the railing in the room. It is descending on two slender chains, that rattle slightly as they unwind. It is very like the lift you rode down into the Maw, only smaller and more decorative.
As Emrys tells his tale and Vaniime examines the area, the basket descends slowly to the floor, where it exactly fits over the seal in the center. One piece of the wrought-brass side unhooks with a little click, pivoting down to form a slight ramp for boarding.
The basket is about 10 feet in diameter; there is room for all of you on it. Looking up, you can see that the chains extend into darkness above the ceiling. What awaits you up there is unknown.
Wilma AC16/12/14 (chain shirt); HP18/20 Tuesday April 3rd, 2012 3:20:04 AM
"Well...how about that?" Wilma said, looking the elegant contraption up and down. "Too bad a certain gnome isn't here...he'd be drooling all over this!" The redheaded cleric made sure that the ramp was properly stable before stepping onto it and walking into the basket.
"Anyone else joining me for the ride..?" asked Wilma. Her brother had an expression that was half-scowl, half-pout.
"I thought for sure it had to do with a dragon..." he muttered, clearly disappointed that his particular theory hadn't proven correct.
Emrys (ac14, hp14) Tuesday April 3rd, 2012 10:13:59 PM
"Wow ... so pleasantly rudimentary ... I guess everything else was just a distraction and any particulars gathered to glean a narrative from the imagery was merely happenstance." With a sigh, Emrys takes F'aast's leash and gently urges the poor slob onto the flower-inspired lift.
Grell AC 22/14/19, HP16/20 d20+1=11 ; Tuesday April 3rd, 2012 11:00:56 PM
The warrior steps onto the lift grumbling about dragons as he checks for any dangers up above them. He casts a quick look over at Vaniime, but quickly turns away in embarrassment.
DM Kathy Tuesday April 3rd, 2012 11:49:53 PM Wilma, Emrys, Grell, and F'aast step onto the lift. It seems sturdy enough to support them. The sides are about waist height.
You peer upwards, but it's too dark to see anything up there.
You realize that you're not sure how to make the lift rise again.
Benedict Carver - AC 18/14/14 - HP 27/27 Wednesday April 4th, 2012 12:35:18 AM
Carver steps up onto the platform. "Might as well see if it works both ways." He clears his throat and pronounces sharply. "Flower."
Vanime quickly scrambles to join the others on the platform, scowling and sending a growl aimed at Carver as he starts trying to make the cage thing rise before she is even on it.
Wilma AC16/12/14 (chain shirt); HP18/20 Wednesday April 4th, 2012 8:23:04 PM
Wilma reached out and wrapped a companionable arm around her favorite elf's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Van!" the cleric assured the spirit ranger. "I'd never let anyone leave you behind..!" The sentiment was accompanied by a smile and a squeeze of Vaniime's shoulders.
Emrys (ac14, hp14) Wednesday April 4th, 2012 9:22:18 PM
If "flower" doesn't work, the bard will mockingly say, "rewolf!" If his response works, he will rub his aching head along with a slight moan.
Grell AC 22/14/19, HP16/20 Wednesday April 4th, 2012 10:02:22 PM
As the others voice their commands to the lift, Grell barks out a simple command of his own..."UP!" He's tired of being down in the dank cave, tired of stupid puzzles, more than a little puzzled about that funny feeling he always gets when he's in close quarters with Vaniime, and tired of his sister hogging the limelight..yet again. Flexing his biceps and forcing them to relax, Grell tries to keep his cool after an encounter that has sorely tried his patience...but it's wearing as thin as silk loincloth in a brothel at the moment.
DM Kathy Wednesday April 4th, 2012 11:45:37 PM Carver tries the answer again, which might have been a bit of an issue as Vaniime was not yet aboard. However, "flower" does not seem to do the trick.
Emrys with bardic insight, tries "rewolf." But backwards flowers are apparently no good either. The basket stays where it is.
Grell demands that the basket ascend, but has no more luck than anyone else.
The basket is still at ground level, the ramp is still extended, and the chains do not move.
Wilma AC16/12/14 (chain shirt); HP18/20 d20+6=26 ; Thursday April 5th, 2012 1:29:44 AM
"What's the opposite of 'flower'..?" Wilma asked, dismayed that none of their tactics were working yet. She tilted her head and thought about all the history of the Woldian gods and how the various religions viewed them, trying to recall if there was a particular God of Testing that was considered her "opposite."
"Maybe if we speak the name of Flower's opposite," she said out loud, "Then the basket might return us to the levels above...?"
OOC: Wilma is making a voluntary Knowledge: religion check; the result is a natural roll of 20--total 26.
Benedict Carver - AC 18/14/14 - HP 27/27 Thursday April 5th, 2012 5:58:43 AM
Carver shrugs. "Perhaps we should simply climb the chains?"
Van looks around at the contraption Dc 23 tosee if the door is closed and to see if there apears to be a way to manually use the chains ti raise the lift. Then after a moment longer she simply says "Sun" to see if the flower will follow it.
(OOC: Hey Guys and Gals, I start spring break tomorrow and may have spotty access until thursday. I will post as often as I can)
Emrys (ac14, hp14) Thursday April 5th, 2012 6:27:53 PM
"Oh, that is an interesting idea, Vaniime. Maybe there is a sun above us in the darkness. Maybe one must simply illuminate it!" Emrys turns his bullseye lantern upward, being careful not to spill any of its oil." If there is an image of the sun above them, he will cast the Light spell upon it.
Grell AC 22/14/19, HP16/20 Thursday April 5th, 2012 10:44:48 PM
It doesn't take a whole lot to get the orc raised warrior frustrated, and all this standing around in a flower basket shouting random words at the ceiling stuff sure is doing the trick. Growling, Grell looks up at the whatever binds the basket to the roof. "Just say the word and I'll climb it."
Then he has a sudden, unexpected thought. "Hey, didn't the Prof. say something about giving him a shout to get out of here?"
DM Kathy Thursday April 5th, 2012 11:39:26 PM Wilma casts about for an opposite to the deity known as Flower, but comes up blank. Emrys examines the ceiling for a clue, but doesn't see anything that inspires him.
Carver suggests simply climbing up the chains, which Grell, the man of action, is happy to volunteer for.
Vaniime, meanwhile, is examining the basket. She picks up the ramp and pivots it back into place. It locks with a little "snick."
As soon as it does, there is a small jolt, and a whirring sound. The basket begins to rise.
Up, up you go, past the beautiful murals, into the vault of the domed ceiling with all its ornate decoration. You pass up into the dark area above the ceiling. You get a vague impression of chains, gears, and pulleys before there is a sudden lurch and a disorienting tumble. And then you are sliding down a chute of some kind, faster and faster, until you land, all of you in a heap, on the floor of a massive cage.
[Everybody take 400 XP for this scene. Good job! And thanks for not solving the cipher the same hour I posted it. Makes me feel like I'm doing something. :) We'll start the next scene next week.]
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