Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"Down in his lab, where you first met him."

Back down at the bottom of the stairs, the Doctor sat at a table, looking at a small pile of notes. He looked up at her for a second. "Who are... oh, yes, of course. The mermaid. What was I going to tell you, again?"

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"Good morning doctor, were your results favorable? I believe you were going to tell me which leviathans you had seen at the site of Elric's sealing. Also, I need the locations of where the other wizards lived. And if you would, tell me about the seals you each placed on the prison, how to release them, and anything else you can about the actual nature of the prison.

She spoke in a non-confrontational manner, not wishing to upset the doctor today and be forced to undergo more experimentation.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"The results are interesting. Not quite what I had hoped, but still showing promise. More study will tell me more."

"Leviathans... Well, we did the thing near what seems to be a living whirlpool. Charybdis, I think you people call it, though I'm not entirely convinced it's a living thing, myself. And that ridiculously large squid hangs out there frequently. Possibly all the time, I don't really know. I've seen a bunch of others in the general area once or twice, but those two always seem to be at the location itself."

He stroked at his bare chin for a moment. "I should grow a beard." He stared off into the distance.

Natalie had slipped in behind Amber, and there was a note of concern in her voice. "Doctor."

He snapped back to reality, and looked boastful. "The seals! Those were a work of art. We built them into a door that is otherwise the strongest part of the prison. Meddling with them would be extremely dangerous. Extremely. But with the right key - the right eight keys - you could open the door. In case we ever wanted him back, for some daft reason."

"There were eight gems. Nothing natural, harder than diamonds. Impregnated with magic, then that magic was twisted so that no magic could directly affect them. None. You can't find them with magic, you can't lift them off the ground with Force. You can't enchant them, you can't disenchant them. And you can't destroy them by any means. It's even impossible to make a fake one, at least one capable of convincing someone who has seen the real one. There's one for each of the Cabal. The seven colors of the rainbow, and black."

He tugged on a hair-thin chain around his neck, and pulled a gemstone from under his robe. It was a polished sphere, solid indigo, and it seemed to glow with an inner fire. When struck by the slightest light, it threw patches of indigo about the room in no obvious pattern. "There are eight stones like this in the world, and you need all eight to open the prison." He replaced the stone in his robes, with a sly smile that he quickly hid.

"We were very private people. Each of us only knew the location of one other, and that only for extreme emergencies. I knew where to find Elan Finare. Which is good for you, because no form of magic could find the island where he made his home, nor is it possible to stumble upon it by accident. You must go -" A map appeared, showing a location a few miles off. "here. There are two rocks about twenty yards apart, sticking out of the sea. Go between them while thinking intensely on the color Purple. Expect... traps. Elan loved traps. I think I told you that he made the trap for Elric. I suspect the ones he'll have laid aren't so bad. I also suspect that he is dead. Or I hope he is, otherwise he is being extremely rude in ignoring my letters."

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Aboshan and Charybdis. Those two would be difficult, if not impossible to talk to. And the seals seemed likely to pose a difficult problem as well. She hadn't the faintest idea how difficult it would be to collect the eight gems from wizards either dead or hostile to her cause.

When the wizard had finished telling her what to expect, she asked, "So you only needed to have the eight gems present, was there anything else that you needed to do to release Elric? Any words that needed to be said or rituals performed?"

And one last question. "I don't suppose I could convince you to part with your stone? It's not as though someone like me would find the others anyway, and if I did there's still no chance I'd be able to free Elric, so there couldn't be any harm to it could there?" She didn't honestly expect him to give it to her, but she would be most remiss if she didn't ask. Amber cast a glance behind her to Natalie, wondering why she sounded so worried.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

"The eight stones must be in their respective receptacles at the same time. You will then physically open the door, and thaumaturgical equivalency will see the door to Elric's prison."

The man snorted. "I doubt anyone could assemble all eight stones. It would be extremely difficult. Hard to say which the most difficult one would be. Unless I really am the last one left alive, in which case it would be an easy answer: this one."

"Now, as per our agreement... I will dedicate some of my time to trying to figure out the locations of the others. It won't be quick, but you might save me some trouble if you find anything useful in one of the other layers. Or you could just give up, or die in one of the traps, or whatever. Then I won't have to figure it out at all. Now go away. No wait a moment."

He stood up and went over to a shelf, where he selected something and tossed it at Amber. It was a small clear stone, set in a chain much like the one she wore. "Cast a simple light spell into it, and I'll be able to hear and respond to you if I so choose. Check in with me each day if you wish me to continue trying to find the others. Now you may go."

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Well, it had been worth a shot. Looked like at the end of the day she would end up having to kill the wizard. Amber found she wasn't all that broken up about it.

She nodded and accepted the stone and chain. "Of course, thank you for your hospitality and assistance."

With that, she was on her way to the exit from this blasted tower, ready to hit the water and go for the next island.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

The journey to the place Doctor Saben had marked on the map was not a terribly long swing, and it was still before noon when she arrived. The area was shallow, rocky water that would be dangerous for ships around low tide. For a mermaid and hours from low tide, it was trivial. Only two spires of rock stuck up out of the water, looking pretty clearly artificial if only because of how unique they were. Swimming around and through the two stones revealed no hint of any sort of residence, or any sort of island.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Finding the island, Amber remembered the wizard's warning. Not one to go in unprepared, she took some time to survey her surroundings before using some magic to boost her senses and make it a little more difficult for things to sneak up on her, and hopefully making it easier to not only find what she was looking for, but any traps that might be set out for her as well.

Spoiler

Arcane Armor (lv 2 arcane, dodge): +16 dodge total: 56 in water, 46 on land
Lesser Strength (lv 2 body, perception): +14 perception total: 35
Eldritch Lantern (lv 3 arcane): A bright light illuminates up to 20 feet around the caster. Creatures may not attempt to make stealth checks while within the radius of this spell, and illusions become transparent so long as the light is near them allowing them to be identified without any additional checks

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

There did not seem to be anything especially dangerous around. At least not to her. Actually getting this close to the twin pillars would be dangerous for anyone in a boat even at high tide. Maybe more dangerous, since they would just barely stick out of the water rather then jutting out as they did now. But there were no dangerous creatures, or any obvious magics.

In fact, there didn't seem to be any creatures at all. It was almost spooky. Nothing big would spend much time up on this rocky area, but there should have been minnows, or sea-birds, or star fish, or clams... there didn't seem to be anything alive except a few free-floating strands of seaweed. The desire to enhance her senses and protect herself became more intense, and a few simple spells spells would do it. She also threw up a third, slightly more complex spell to dispel illusions.

And nothing changed. This really was just two rocks in the middle of the ocean. But after a moment, it became apparent that something had changed. Something so small and subtle that she hadn't noticed it until it was gone. The rocks didn't look as sharp, or even quite as close to the surface. The currents didn't seem to pull as much. The sky seemed brighter. A sense of forboding and gloom had been gently whispering at her that she should just swim around the area instead of through it, that there was nothing interesting or unusual, nothing worth even a minor risk.

Paying closer attention, she saw the runes, scratched gently into a few rocks in the area, looking almost natural and drawing only tiny amounts of power. It was enough to keep animals away, and probably enough for most humans and merfolk as well, though if someone had a specific reason to visit it wouldn't be enough to stop them. Once she knew what to look for, she found tiny spells drawing power on the rocks as well. They were even more subtle then the wards, and didn't seem to be actively doing anything, just listening.

Spoiler

59/67 EP; +16 dodge (Arcane Armor), +14 perception (Lesser Strength), Eldritch Lantern.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

This island...it was obviously trouble. But she was definitely in the right place. Thinking solidly on the color purple, she passed through the rocks.

Spoiler

Short post is short, but in my defense WALKING DEAD!

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Everything went dark for a second, and Amber found herself in a cavern. Everything was still dark, but her eldritch lantern provided a certain amount of illumination. She was still in the water, still between two rocks. The sea felt the same, and the seafloor looked the same.

But she was certain she hadn't been in a cave a minute ago. Daggers of rock reached down from the ceiling, but it was a safe distance up. There was a beach fifty or so yards forward, sand dark with no path to the sun. Beyond the beach seemed to be a smooth wall with a perfectly round hole in it. There was no sign of other life, or even magic. Aside from whatever had brought her here, and the same runes on the rock that she had seen moments before.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Well this was a...conundrum. Amber wasn't entirely sure what to make of this, except that perhaps the runes listened to thoughts instead of voices. She still didn't feel like this was a good place to be, but she was here and she had a job to do.

The obvious way forward was the tunnel. Seeing nothing else, she decided to advance that way. Slowly waving her tail in the water, she glided through towards the dark beach. Once she got to the point where the water was shallow, she would change over to human form once again. However, she was on edge the whole time, not wanting to be caught in whatever traps that might lie in wait for her.

As much as this place set her on edge, she set her heart in stone and moved forward. Her people were relying on her. She would not let them down.

Spoiler

She is going to keep her spells active until otherwise noted. The only one that will have upkeep is lantern, upkeep of 1.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Eldritch Lantern is a Utility spell, not a buff, and as such doesn't have an automatic upkeep cost. (Though it does count towards the limit of 3 active spells.)

The wall beyond the shore was ice-smooth rock, perfectly flat until in ran into what seemed to be natural cavern off to the sides and top. The sand came up to the level of the circular hole.

Walking through the obvious passage, there was a sudden feeling of magic, and the room beyond was suddenly lit by a uniform light with no obvious source. Amber cast no shadow within the room, and looking back at the passage she could see runes etched under the surface of the rock, near identical to the ones that had been on the twin pillars.

The room was large, easily a hundred yards cubical. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all smooth. On the far side, there was another circular hole, leading to another dark room. The only feature of the room seemed to be a gap in the floor. It ran the entire width of the room, and was about 8 meters wide. Amber couldn't see the bottom from the wall. And getting closer didn't help. It faded off into grey mist an unfathomable distance below. The eldritch lantern sat there, quietly reinforcing the fact that this wasn't an illusion.

The gap was too big for Amber to jump. Maybe an especially fit human could have just barely managed it, but if she tried she would fall well short. A closer inspection would reveal runes sitting on the walls on either side of the pit. These seemed different then the ones before. They were still some kind of detectors, but not the odd sort of 'listening' the others had done. More like watching.

Spoiler

59/67 EP; +16 dodge (Arcane Armor), +14 perception (Lesser Strength), Eldritch Lantern.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

There was a dark, grim, elegance to whatever strange cavern it was she found herself in. She made a note of the apparent opening above the smoothed walls.

She started at the sudden burst of magic and lightening of the room, certain that she was under attack. When that appeared to not be the case, she relaxed a fraction. Examining the room revealed no obvious way to advance. However, on closer inspection, the runes in this room were subtly different from the ones outside. These were watching runes.

Thinking for a moment, it seemed logical to conclude that since the first set of runes had listened for purple in one's thoughts. Maybe this one required a sight of purple to pass through.

Amber searched through her belongings for a purple object. Or, if she didn't have one, she would shift her hair to a purple color.

Spoiler

Ah, whoops

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber didn't seem to have any purple objects on her, so she instead shifted her hair. For a long moment nothing seemed to happen. Then the floor on the opposite side shifted, cracks forming as a section of floor slid out, creating a narrow bridge across the gap. The view from the bridge was precarious, but it was rock solid and the air was completely still.

Once the mermaid had crossed the bridge and was well on the other side, it slid back into its original position. It was impossible to see much beyond the circular hole in the wall, but it was just possible to make out another pair of runes in the sides of the hole, apparently identical to the ones that had turned on the lights in the previous room.

Spoiler

Perception: 44

Just before stepping into the room, Amber noticed something a ways inside. There was a pillar in the center, with a slightly darker hole in the middle of it. It made Amber think of the barrel of a gun.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Facing another set of runes, Amber paused before entering the tunnel, looking to see if anything looked especially out of place. "Purple...Just think purple thoughts..." Tensing greatly, she stepped into the next passage, expecting some catastrophic trap to spring at any moment, and trying to not be in front of the gun-like pillar.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Attack (Trap): 39 vs 46 -> Miss
Attack (Trap): 44 -> Miss
Attack (Trap): 38 -> Miss

The moment Amber had passed all the way through the portal, the lights went on. They illuminated the room with the same even, sourceless light as the previous one. However, this room contained a few more features. The pillar directly in front of the mermaid wasn't the only one, there were dozens scattered throughout the hall. Each of them supported several holes along their height and around their circumference, and each of those holes now had a tiny purple light. Each light grew for about ten seconds, then continued on at the same brightness.

Except the one on the pillar directly in front of Amber, which suddenly shot out, directly at her. She avoided it easily, stepping to one side. And saw another bolt of purple light darting at her from a pillar that had been near to the wall a ways to her right. At the last second she realized that there might be one behind her as well, and dropped to the ground in time to see something purple fly above her, missing by inches.

In each of the three holes that had shot a bolt at her, a tiny purple light started growing.

Spoiler

59/67 EP; +16 dodge (Arcane Armor), +14 perception (Lesser Strength), Eldritch Lantern.

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

As alarming as lights suddenly coming on in this place was, purple laser beams shooting from the walls was even more alarming. Seeing the slots that had emitted the beams beginning to glow brighter, she decided it was time to find an exit from this room.

Amber dropped the lantern spell and cast another defensive spell to help her avoid the dangerous light beams. It was difficult as there were quite a few glowing purple slots all over the room, making it hard to tell which ones were about to fire. Looking around quickly, Amber tried to find a way out of this laser funhouse.

Spoiler

Drop Eldritch Lantern.
Cast Force Armor: +14 dodge Cost 2 EP

 

[thetwo]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

50 v 60 -> Miss
53 v 60 -> Miss
37 v 60 -> Miss

57 v 60 -> Miss
60 v 60 -> Tie! (goes to the PC. Miss.)

61 v 60 -> Hit!
Damage: (2,4 + 8) = 12 EP drain

Amber practically ran through the huge room, dodging bolts of purple energy as she went. It started out relatively easy, bolts that didn't stand a chance at hitting her through the distorting energy that surrounded her. But as she moved through the room, the bolts started to change. They charged longer without seeming to get bigger, but when they moved they moved faster.

One slipped between the mermaid's arm and her body, close enough to feel the crackling energy. She was just about to pass through the next doorway when she felt something touch her back. It wasn't a physical force, not arcane fire or solid light. Instead it attacked her magical reserves, stripping away some of her energy. Amber nearly fell through the door, and suddenly the bolts stopped.

Once again stepping through the doorway had triggered lights in the next room, but this one looked different. There was an actual door in the wall opposite her, rectangular and with a handle. There were some sort of strange markings along the frame, not exactly runes, and etched in deep, and the whole thing had been woven over with incredibly complex magic.

There were also two impressive statues. They were lifesize, one on each side of the door. The man sat in a reclined position, a look of bliss on his face as he stared at something that wasn't quite there. He was naked, with an erect member. It looked as if he were having rather enjoyable sex, and it was obvious from the position just where the woman would be. But she wasn't there. The woman was on the other side of the door, also on her back, head thrown back in a scream of passion as an invisible man plowed her. Even from across the room Amber could see that there was an actual hole in her crotch. Both statues also radiated magic.

Spoiler

45/67 EP; +16 dodge (Arcane Armor), +14 perception (Lesser Strength), +14 dodge (Force Armor).

 

[sturm]

Re: Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

Amber hurtled through the laser trap room, frantically dodging the bolts and focusing on her magical shields at the same time. As she was almost to the exit, she felt the heat of the closest shot yet before one of them impacted her back. She didn't feel it physically, but it seemed to drain her stamina without leaving a physical wound. She wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or alarmed, but she made it into the next room, triggering the lights too soon to be alarmed, merely glad to be free of the lasers.

Glancing around the room, it was apparent where her interests were supposed to be directed. One male statue with a very erect penis, and one female statue in the throes of ecstasy. They were placed on opposite sides of the door. As curious as both statues were, Amber checked the door first, wanting a closer look at the strange markings and a better feel for the magic. She observed the door for a moment, trying to get a better feel for what she was dealing with. Not all traps were as obvious as flying, stamina-stealing, lasers, after all.

Once she had completed her inspection of the door, Amber would take a closer look at the statues. Naturally, she paid a bit more attention to the female statue. Was that really a vagina?