Trouble in the Deep (sturm) GMed by thetwo

[thetwo]

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

"Perhaps you do not entirely understand the nature of stone. As things stand, I will not remain here a year. Or a decade. A century, or a millenium. A thousand times a thousand years. You could perhaps stay a minute. Maybe, if you were truly desperate and honest, you could talk with me periodically for a century. One down, ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine to go? No thank you." The statue went quiet again for a moment. "On the other hand, you did make it this far. Rubbish at logic, but even locating this place would require a powerful mage. "

The statue stared straight into Amber's eyes after another momentary pause. "Free me from this rock, and I will open the door."

The magic in the room stirred as the raven spoke this last, shifting, power enough that even the untalented should have felt something amiss. When he stopped talking the currents stilled, leaving things in a slightly different place. And now Amber could make out clearly the spells on the statue, at least some of them. The spells didn't animate the bird, they trapped something within a flexible skin that was itself secured firmly to the perch. Other spells dipped through and around these, opening strictly limited magical conduits to other places, but whatever was in the rock couldn't move an inch, and couldn't touch the spells that sealed it.

 

[sturm]

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

Amber couldn't really argue with the crow-statue-thing's logic. And since it barred the door, she had no choice but to comply, though she was extremely wary of dealing with a being she certainly knew nothing about. But her people were dying and she was running out of time. "Fine, I'll do it. Just let me figure out what it is I have to do exactly..." With that she began to examine the spells that bound...whatever it was in the crow statue.

 

[thetwo]

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

Spoiler

In the last few weeks spells were added to arcane specifically for detecting the nature of magic. I'll keep allowing seeing magic without spells for the remainder of this segment because it was designed and started that way, but in the future you will have to cast a spell to see such things.

A few minutes of study were required, given the complexity of the spells. And when she was done, the whole thing suddenly looked simple. There had been layers of traps and defenses, but the shifting magic earlier had stripped away, neutered, or disabled them. A release of magical energy was inevitable, but wouldn't be deadly. And while the spell was nearly impervious from the inside, it was only incredibly difficult to touch from the outside, now.

All that was required was a dispel. An especially powerful one, to be sure, but probably within the range of Amber's abilities.

 

[sturm]

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

Finally seeing the mess of spells for what it was, Amber sighed and readied herself to release whatever this thing was, fully aware that it may well try to rape and or kill her as soon as she let it out. If her entire civilization wasn't in jeopardy..."Here goes nothing..."

She released her eldritch lantern so that she could focus on her dispel.

Spoiler

Drops eldritch lantern, casts level 3 greater dispel. Arcane is favored, should be auto success (-4 EP)

 

[thetwo]

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

Spoiler

Casting: Success
Dispel: 34 + 18 = 52 v 50 -> Success!

The spell went off smoothly, and while it barely managed to strip away the protective spells, it did seem to work. A flash of light and magic pulsed out from the statue, and dozens of others spells immediately followed, pulling apart the wards that had already been reassembling the sealing spells. After a moment's frenzy, things died down.

For a moment it looked like nothing had changed - the statue even still glowed with magic. Then it rustled its wings, took off, flew once around the room, and landed back on its perch. "Ah, thank you." It froze again, but not before sending out one final spell into the workings behind it. The door seemed to flash out of existence, leaving an open passage to what seemed to be a cluttered sitting room.

 

[sturm]

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

Amber tensed, ready to be assailed by furious magic held captive for centuries. What happened instead was a pleasant surprise. The newly freed statue flew around the room, thanked her, and removed the door before...re-statuing? She wasn't all that sure what to make of it, did whatever was constrained slip free? Had it been a spirit? Or had it only been free for a matter of seconds? "Er...much obliged, I suppose..."

Deciding not to press her luck, Amber decided to advance into the next room and hopefully find what she had come here for. Hell, maybe she could find other useful things, this was the lair of a powerful wizard after all, who knows what he might have squirreled away...other than dastardly and perverted traps that is.

 

[thetwo]

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

The room was strewn with books, on just about every flat surface apart from the floor. One chair had its seat clear, though there were still books on the arms and back. Most of the titles were in languages or scripts that Amber couldn't read, but those that she could decipher suggested research into the very fundamentals of magic on a level that she could hardly comprehend existing. Eventually it seemed to reach a point where magic and reality were the same thing, which was about where the mermaid had to give up trying to understand.

The stone raven flew in after her, and perched on a near-identical perch on the other side of the doorway. "What do you want in here, anyway?"

 

[sturm]

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

Amber began looking around the room, attempting to find the gemstone first and foremost, though she supposed finding mention of the other mages could be helpful as well. She was surprised when the bird statue flew in, though she supposed it was curious as well. "I seek a small round gemstone. And an address book would be nice too... Do you know of any such things?" She wondered if the bird would be grateful enough to help her, or mischievous enough to hinder her instead, or maybe he just wouldn't do anything. But she had released him from his prison, maybe he would help her.

"By the way, what should I call you? You do have a name, right?"

 

[thetwo]

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

"A name? No. The Master just called me 'crow'." The crow turned its head sideways to glance at Amber. "And... a gemstone and an address book? Why-..."

The crow's eyes seemed to flash, changing from gray stone to obsidian for a moment. "Ah, I see. A shapeshifter. After Master's Keystone, and another who holds a Keystone. Looking to open the prison, mermaid?"

The statue didn't give Amber time to answer. "Well, no skin off my back. I'm not sure even a god could reach into this place if I closed the portal. It's not actually part of the world, you know. Well, maybe you don't. Anyway, here."

The crow's beak opened, and it coughed a few times, its feather puffing up. Finally, a stone fell out. It was the twin to the one Victor had worn, but a shade darker... purple rather than indigo.

"I don't think he had an address book, but he sometimes wrote letters in the next room." One wing indicated a low doorway.

 

[sturm]

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

Amber bristled as the crow statue almost immediately discerned her intentions, however he, it, the crow, proved surprisingly cooperative, handing over the gem with no fuss, apparently confident in its safety. Though she was rather puzzled as to why the crow would be worried about its safety anyway. Admittedly Elric would probably be furious when he was released, wishing to take vengeance on those who had imprisoned him, however she doubted he would take it upon himself to destroy every single possession of those who trapped him.

"My thanks...crow. If I may though, I don't see why you would worry anyway. Wouldn't Elric care more about your master than the statue that sits over his door?" She continued on to look for the letters the crow had mentioned. "What sort of creature are you anyway? Surely you aren't just a crow given consciousness and trapped in a stone crow statue. Or is that exactly the case?"

 

[thetwo]

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

"Gods are not known for their pinpoint and completely rational vengence." The crow ruffled its feathers and looked at Amber with only one eye. "No, I was never a crow. I existed before the Master bound me, but I existed without shape. Which is a fine way to be, but leaves you somewhat... unfocused. A body defines you, lets you focus on one place and one time instead of drifting about until you hardly exist at all. Unimportant. I could leave this statue now if I liked, but I will not."

In the next room there was a writing desk. Sheets of paper, wells of ink, several sturdy quills. Some things she didn't recognize, some that were almost certainly magical in nature. A fireplace contained the burned remains of several sheets. And in the center of the desk one piece of paper folded into an envelope. It was sealed with a pool of purple wax, marked with an odd symbol. A stylized trident bound in an octagon, one of the corners emphasized with a dot. Below the seal were two words in black ink: "Amber Relthena".

 

[sturm]

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

Well, it was true what the crow said. Amber couldn't blame him for wanting to look after himself. When he, Amber had decided to at least think of it as a he, talked about his origin, she found herself intrigued. It was certainly a unique way of looking at things. "I suppose having a body does do that. Though I have never existed solely as a spirit or as energy, or as whatever it was you existed as. And I certainly have no desire experience it at this time, I rather like my body. Regardless, the choice is yours to make and I will certainly not begrudge you that."

Finding the letter in the next room, Amber didn't move to touch it, merely looking at it for a moment. "Well that certainly looks like a trap, doesn't it?" She continued to observe the letter for a moment, casting examine on the letter, hoping to glean some clue to the nature of the magic at play here before touching what could be a potent booby trap.

 

[thetwo]

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

The letter didn't have any obvious traps. In fact, it didn't have any obvious magic at all. It was quite possibly the only non-magical item she'd found since swimming into the mage's domain. A closer examination of the seal itself suggested that the wax had a magical rather than mundane origin, but there didn't seem to be anything active on it, only the traces of its creation. If it was a trap, it was an exceedingly subtle one.

 

[sturm]

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

"Well...I suppose I might as well open it." Unable to find any obvious traps, Amber decided to open the letter, wondering how it could possibly be addressed to her even though rooms owner was dead and very few people outside of the merfolk even knew or cared that she even existed, let alone bothered with knowing her name.

Picking the letter up, Amber opened it, seeing what someone had to say to her, and hopefully learning who had something to say to her as well.

 

[thetwo]

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

Amber,
I am dying. I am an old man, and I lived a full life, so you'll pardon me if I don't claim to be filled with regrets or any such nonsense. My time has simply come. Time. I spent a good deal of effort looking into Time, recently. It didn't give me the answers I sought, but it did allow me to see who the next person in this room would be. Probably.

That was enough to tell me why you are here. The mermaids have always sought to free their god. Well, we put him away for good reasons. Or perhaps what we thought were good reasons, as I find myself less certain in my old age. Maybe we were wrong, maybe it is time to release the storm god, or maybe the decision simply should not be ours. I doubt I will persuade you to give up your quest, and if you've found my home then I suspect you will find the others, in time.

Well. I don't exactly have Time to waste (Ha!) so I'll just say it. Willes Arper kept his Keystone on the island I have marked on the back of this missive. The man himself is dead.

- Elan Finare

P.S. Be careful, he was always fond of raw power, and when I say Power I mean... well, ask your God.

On the back of the letter was a map of the ocean near Shry-Kuth-Lus, with an octagon marking the spot where Amber would presumably find an island.

 

[sturm]

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

As she read through the letter, Amber couldn't help being surprised at its contents. It displayed a viewpoint she had not expected to find among those responsible for what happened to Elric. Especially based on her most recent encounter with Dr. Saban. Taking mental note of the location, she folded up the letter and tucked it away. Afterwards it was about time to make ready to leave this place. However, it was the den of a powerful wizard, perhaps there might be something else worth taking lying around? In any case, she used a detect magic spell to help her potentially find any objects of interest in the area before leaving.

Spoiler

Detect magic lv 2 arcane: 2 EP Detects magical effects or magical creatures in an area, allowing the caster a +10 bonus to Perception when trying to discern their location. Detected objects are treated as if they had had the Examine spell cast on them.

 

[thetwo]

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

The writing materials didn't seem to be magical, save for the wax, and there didn't seem to be any more wax around. The books in the next room had magic clinging to them, either from years of being around wizards or just for their subject matter. No mysterious rings or bags of gold were immediately apparent, but she could probably carry one or two books out if she wished, and perhaps find someone willing to buy them.

The crow, of course, glowed with magic. In fact, he seemed to be slowly rebuilding the spells that Amber had destroyed before, only inside out... easy to take apart from inside, near-impervious from the outside. They were tortuously complex to build, but he was still occasionally changing perches to keep in sight of the mermaid.

Finally, there was another door. There was potent magic beyond it, and more than one spell sealing it shut, but Amber was fairly confident that she could dismantle it without too much trouble. Before she could start, though, the bird spoke up. "That is the master's bedroom. Or it was. Now it is his tomb." The crow was now perched above the door, watching Amber seriously.

 

[sturm]

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

Amber idly flipped through the books, taking setting aside two of the most interesting to consider taking back with her. When she found the other door, the one to the master wizard's bedroom, she asked the crow. "Do you know if there's only the one spell on the door, or am I going to be destroyed as soon as I open the door?" If the crow either gave her either a non-answer, told her more or less honestly that it was just the one spell, or otherwise didn't give her serious pause, she would cast greater dispel on the door, not wanting to take any chances before she tried opening it.

Spoiler

Drops detect magic, uses greater dispel (lv 3 arcane) -4 EP

 

[thetwo]

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

"The spells on the door won't destroy you. But if you are going to disturb my Master's tomb while a guest in his home, I would hope that you have a very good reason." The crow's eyes turned suddenly solid purple, and it shifted as if getting ready to leave its perch, still eyeing the shapeshifted woman intently.

 

[sturm]

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

Always a snag. "Well, you know I have a long, difficult journey ahead of me. I need whatever help I can get or find. I wish to examine his room for objects that might aid me in my mission. I won't defile his body if that's what worries you, all I am interested in are the mortal possessions he no longer needs. I will be respectful, after all, he left the note for me though he was certainly not obliged to do so." She was wary of the sudden shift in demeanor of the crow, certainly not wanting to anger a being she didn't fully understand.