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Post by indeath on Oct 2, 2020 4:14:46 GMT -6
(Malgrim is going to try to get insight into his teammates and figure out the child’s riddle. Also why the deranged team bonding exercise. Insight : 10, intelligence check: 11+2 :13 for the riddle.)
Well no one was screaming at his presence. That was always a good sign. One fellow looked kinda skittish, however he was pretty sure that wasn’t his fault.
Grim looked at the woman who spoke, she was striking, but it was what she said that concerned him more. This was a game of some sort? He didn’t like to judge what others did for fun, but this was something else. Hopefully the fairly gruesome happened in to someone else. Someone very far away from him. He made a mental note of the door. That was important. At least they had access to weapons, an advantage on the other ‘teams’ right?
“What?! It’s.. it’s happened before? Is this some kinda weird ass team bonding thing? Except you know... we don’t work together. Or at least I don’t. Agreed though. We should work together. I am... “
Should he tell them his name or go with Steve. Or Jeremy. Hmm. Everyone was a potential client. Better not. Besides the angry looking guy didn’t look like he could take a joke right now.
“Malgrim Albercroft, PI. As for the riddles? Definitely wouldn’t take any on face value. This one asks for eternal life. I think we need to put something in their hands. Jade? Some kinda philosopher’s stone? Not the shitty book by the way. An actual stone. Anything like that over there , Mr. Trenchcoat?”
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Post by qhostqrowls on Oct 2, 2020 5:17:21 GMT -6
[OOC: Faolan tells the rest of the group his interpretation of the inscriptions, and begins to carefully search for the items should everyone else agree with that course of action. Rolled an 8 for investigation, 19 for stealth]
Faolan inspected the pedestals and repeated the inscriptions to Nagi, frowning as he thought. It seemed relatively straightforward, but there was doubtlessly going to be some kind of awful twist. The inscription about the barrel of live flesh made his skin crawl, and he shuddered slightly as he turned back to the group.
"I think this one might be a candle or torch." Faolan gestured to pedestal S, and then turned to pedestal T. "And this one sounds like a book. I think solving the riddles and playing along with this is our best chance of winning, but I don't know. We could also try to find a way out."
Again he glanced to Telmore for leadership. The room was large, cluttered, and could be filled with any number of traps. The items could be anywhere. Was it even worth it to start looking? Maybe it would be less humiliating and tiring if he just sat here and waited for a monster to come and rip his head off like last time. Or maybe they could find the others and team up. He didn't know, and he didn't want to have to make these decisions.
"Maybe Simon can uh, sniff the flesh one out?" The doctor looked uncertainly to the werewolf, uncertain of how well he understood. There was a gleam of intelligence in his eyes, but he also just seemed like a very friendly large dog.
If the rest of the group agreed to search for the items, Faolan would carefully make his way across the room, scanning for small details or items of interest. The man paid extra attention to his footing, wary of a trap beneath the splendour that one false step or careless nudge might trigger.
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Post by okami1reeka333 on Oct 2, 2020 6:56:36 GMT -6
[Jedidiah examines the tree and deduces that he has no earthly idea what species this tree is (Rolled a 6 for nature), hears other folks and crouches down alittle to suddenly see everything without the branches in his way. . . (rolled a 20 for perception. he offers for anyone to climb onto his back or to pick someone up to see if they can identify the tree they are under.]
Jedidiah:
Well, no need to waste an opportune moment to see what his got his head deep into . . .at least what species of tree his head is in the leaves of. . . . Turns out! he disappoints his mother because he has no earthly idea what species he is looking at. Not even the fruit or the leaves are ringing any bells for him. . .nor the smells. . .
Not a single flying thing. . . Doesn't help hes abit far sighted- at least hes assuming he is. . . . Though when he heard the others down below, he crouched his head down abit. . .ducking under the canopy. . .before he saw everything that was around him. .
Hau is panicking, There was Edge trying to calm folks, Kira is offering to do jobs, and he had no idea whom the other was. . . .Though he was walking towards one of the sarcophagi that surrounded them. . ."Hau, its alright, its alright, lets just take this one step at a time. Would one of you like to climb onto my back? I'm trying to figure out what species of tree this is and I Do not recognize it at all. " he asked.
Maybe one of them encountered it before?
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Post by Marshmallow on Oct 2, 2020 7:12:08 GMT -6
[Summary: Nagi is blind and has no idea wtf anything is. Aaron's warning about traps keeps him from stumbling off like a moron. He carefully makes his way to the bottom of the coin pile and stays near the pedestals. Since he can't readily help search, he asks one of the others to re-read the riddles so he can ponder the answers.
Rolling Insight = 15
Rolling Stealth to move carefully I guess? = 13]
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So the bodies he felt nearby were acquaintances, friends even. The familiar voices were a comfort, but their words shook the tentative relief from his face.
"Is this your first Halloween like this?"
"Like this..? Like what? Is this normal?" Nagi asked incredulously. It was a toss-up to say whether he was more alarmed by the situation or by the resigned acceptance in his companions' voices.
"This place will probably try to kill us. Traps or hostiles..."
"Uh... Right..." The kirin laughed nervously. But the flat tone of Aaron's voice told him it wasn't a joke. "Wait, you're serious... Someone is out to kill us? But that voice... Have we been taken hostage? What's going on?" There came that anxiety again, running fingers of ice down his spine. A fearful fawn's instinct bid him to lie down and stay still - and if he had his natural shape, he might have been inclined to. But he was human, and for whatever strange reason he felt oddly disconnected from his true form. Like he was... stuck, for lack of a better term.
A shame, because he was much steadier on four feet than two when the terrain was so non-compliant. His first attempt to stand ended prematurely when the coins ran like sand beneath his feet. "Faolan, could you give me a hand?"
With some difficulty on the uneven pile, he managed to find his footing at last. Coins shifted and slid with each step, and with no other means to get his bearings, he was forced to lean on Faolan for support. Thankfully the pile was not so large as it had seemed when he couldn't feel the floor. With solid ground beneath his feet, Nagi was a little more sure of himself.
Until he tried to conjure up a breeze to stir the chamber's stagnant air. Normally it was a simple thing to turn the air to his favor, it was his most effective means of navigation. But just like how the comfort of his hooves and mane was somehow out of reach, so was his magic. The energy simply didn't come to him, and the stifling, dusty air remained unmoved.
He was so distracted by the cold shock and realization that he was completely cut off from every form of independence he once had that he didn't realize Faolan was speaking until he heard the doctor's footsteps.
"Wait!" Nagi cried, carefully turning in place. He kept his hands out to steady himself and to hopefully catch himself if he hit anything. He was just about to take a step toward Faolan when Aaron's warning about traps bubbled up among his thoughts. Abruptly he froze, like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Nevermind actually... I think I should stay right here, and not move. At all," he amended. The absurdity and unease of the situation combined, and he couldn't help but laugh at the notion of stumbling blindly into a pressure trap or a pitfall, if this really was such a place. "This is insane. I don't have my cane or Okudo, and now I don't even have my magic. Like, it's just gone. I'm dead in the water here, guys. Someone read the... the whatever those were again. I can at least think about answers while one of you looks around for something useful..."
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Post by kilnarak on Oct 2, 2020 7:31:57 GMT -6
[ Ari tries to take some comfort from Moana's presence. And relays what information he has to the others. If Moana moves, he'll move, but otherwise he'll keep to trying to figure out the alchemy statues. ]
Ari startled slightly when Moana called his name, but when he turned to her he managed a smile, albeit a small one that twitched nervously at the corners. "H-Hey. Uh, y-yeah I was. It was. It. Th-this." He gestured broadly, encompassing the room, the scenario, and his eyes flitted nervously from her to the other two, to the gruesome artwork adorning the room. "I-I... Th-This happened before. But-But different. Every year. It-It's a curse, I th-think." The stammering was a bit worse than normal, it felt like his heart was lodged in his throat, beating hard and fast. His pupils were blown wide in the dark.
"Th-The others will kill us. Or-Or this place. Or it-it'll make us k-kill each other." He bit his lip, edging a bit nearer to Moana. He wanted to feel safer around her - she was strong - but he couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't help. He slouched to make himself smaller and leaned against her side - at least if she let him.
His gaze flicked up to the alchemist statues again, then back to the strange gray-skinned man when he spoke. He was addressing the other man, the blonde with the aura of danger about him, but still... "The... The stone, the philosopher's stone? It-it's an alchemy-thing right? This is uh. This is alchemy stuff. But I can't- I can't read it." He fidgeted, then looked back to the statues. "I uh. I think though... Th-these look like pressure plates. I-I think if you step on them something will-will happen. P-Probably a trap, maybe. Or... Or maybe you need to push them in, uh, in a certain order?"
"I uh. I'm Ari b-by the way."
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Post by Vaitris on Oct 2, 2020 13:26:59 GMT -6
[OOC: Hau introduces himself to Sjira, inspects the sarcophagi in the west (A).]
Around Hau, people were waking up. A tiny voice caught his attention as a small bat creature emerged from the other side of the tree. There was something vaguely familiar about her but Hau couldn't place what it was. Her speech was garbled and hard to understand and it took him a few moments to realize she was referring to herself in the third person. And that the young black-haired man must be Edge she was referring to.
He wanted to be reassured by Jed's words but there was still a tremor in his hands so he tucked his arms around his middle nervously. Sara had talked about suffering through this multiple times, was every year as horrible as the last? Maybe... this time would be better? He wasn't alone from the get go, that could make all the difference. And if they did as the voice instructed would they be able to leave? It was worth a try, despite the implied danger, and it would provide something to focus on.
The kitsune's eyes trailed back to the plaque gleaming on the side of the tree. Pluck the safe fruit. He glanced at what was hanging above his head, unsure if he would be able to tell the safe from the unsafe. It was probably best to focus his attention on the other oddities in the room instead, leave this one for those who could determine the difference. The sarcophagi were sitting ominously in rows around the room, as he scanned them his gaze fell upon the man with the green hair, the only person whose name he hadn't been able to glean from conversation. He was young, no more than a teenager. Hau felt a brief burst of frustration that a mere kid had been dragged into this.
"I'm not sure what's going on." He admitted in answer to the teen's question, picking his next words carefully so that his anxiety wouldn't seep through. "But we'll figure it out. Somehow." Probably not the most reassuring thing ever said. He offered the stranger his hand, the formality a comforting sliver of normality. "I'm Hau." Whether the gesture was accepted or not, he decided to inspect the set of sarcophagi closest to him, curious about the writing he had spotted there earlier.
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Post by MP on Oct 2, 2020 14:15:40 GMT -6
[ OOC: Aaron gives the walking stick to Nagi (2 stealth, 1 perception). He comes back to examine the the indents in the pedestals for clues about the shape, size, and texture of the items (19 investigation) and searches for matching items around the room (15 perception).]
Aaron frowned down at the pedestals. Riddles weren't his forte, and he was grateful that Dr. Mura already had an idea what they were looking for.
"It's not a hostage situation," he answered Kiyohara, picking his way towards the cane. Coins slipped and cascaded underfoot, despite his best efforts to move carefully. "It's a Class B anomalous etheric event localized to Halloween night. The basic laws of reality are the same, but we may find entities and magic unique to the event. Just play it safe. Reports say all effects are temporary."
The words sounded much calmer than he felt. Aaron brought the makeshift white cane to Kiyohara and continued back to the pedestals. The doctor's guesses made sense, but they shouldn't be relying on blind guesswork.
He took a closer look at the indentations in the pedestals. The size and shape. Even the texture of the surface or the shape of the pedestal might tell them something. How heavy the object was, for example. Even if they couldn't narrow down fine details, it might give them a clue what kind of object to look for. Especially where the first riddle is concerned. Aaron had heard enough accounts of sphinxes and demonic pact to know that "value" could have multiple meanings. He scanned the room again, looking for a match.
"Simon -"
He gestured to the wolf. It started as a leg pat, hesitated mid-motion, and morphed into an awkward kind of beckon. It was probably hugely offensive to call a werewolf and coworker like a dog, but he wasn't sure how to else to get an animal's attention.
"Come with me, okay?" Could Simon understand that in his current form? Aaron wasn't sure, and he didn't have better ideas other than more leg pats. "Let's search the room. Check the doors while we're at it."
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Post by NightshadeVII on Oct 2, 2020 15:23:55 GMT -6
(OOC: Edge tells Kira that it might be a bad idea to pick the fruit just yet, as they don’t fully know what the tree is. After Recognizing Sjira, he suggests to the group that they should share their findings, to see if they can use anything to figure out where they are, what to do or how to get out safely. Edge rolls a 13 perception to check out Sarcophagus E.)
Edge couldn’t stop the warm smile from forming on his lips as he saw Kira, a vauge, weird sense of comfort coming from at least knowing someone in this place. She was more anxious than ever, obviously, and as she huddled near Edge and Jed, stumbling over her words, the Darai crouched down beside her without even thinking. Carefully, letting Kira see what he was doing, he lightly placed a hand on her shoulder, a reassuring gesture. “Yeah, we’re here with you. You’re gonna be okay, Kira”, he said, hoping he could keep that promise. Then, once he realized she was talking about the fruits in the tree, he looked up again, at the gnarled branches stretching like boney fingers and the fruits they bore. Until he knew more he didn’t even want to touch those things. “The tree is sick, I think”, he said, looking back at Kira, “so the tree sweets might not be good to eat. They might harm us. So why don’t we try to learn more about the tree before we try picking the tree sweets?”
With that, he rose, to his feet again, taking another glance around the room again. It was good to know that there was a door to the far end of the room, but he didn’t want to just go over there and push it open, not wanting to risk making their situation worse. At the same time, there was that voice, it’s words and instructions seeming so oddly disconnected from everything else, did it belong to whatever brought them here. Either way, they wouldn’t get anywhere by just standing around. The more they could learn about this place the better. Maybe it would even lead to a way out. The writing on the sarcophagi, maybe that held some clues? Already he could see one of the other people here, a blue-haired young man it would seem, going over to inspect one of the sarcophagi, while Jed was trying to inspect the tree. The last member of their ragtag little group seemed more familiar the second time Edge looked at him. Something about his hair and the look in his eyes. Then it struck him, making him wonder how he could forget, it was the young man from the mountains, the one he had met purely by chance.
Why these people? Had they all just been randomly plucked out of nowhere? Was this some elaborate dream? It felt too real to be that, a part of his mind wouldn’t allow himself to fall into the safety of believing all this to be a dream. He couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but this entire experience somehow felt familiar, yet alien to him, like he had been somewhere similar before, and yet not quite.
Still, seeing how everyone headed off to do their own thing, a thought came to him. For now, it wouldn’t seem like they were being pitted against one another, so perhaps they could work together, share what they found out and figure out something, anything really. It was better than just stumbling around, everyone trying to do something but missing something else. Edge drew breath to speak.
“Maybe we should try to share what we learn from this room with eachother?”, he suggested to the others in the room, “then we might be able to figure out how to get out of here. Or at the very least figure out what’s going on.” With this said, he waited a moment to hear what the rest thought. He hoped they’d be able to work something out. This place was getting more and more unsettling by the moment, and as much as he tried to ignore it, his efforts were in vain. This place was dead, not just on the surface, with its weird, sick, tortured tree, no, this place felt dead to its very core. Long dead. It was oppressive, a choking thickness in the air pressing in from all sides. It crept under his skin, sent a shiver down his spine. Perhaps this place had been alive at some point, but now it was nothing more than a carcass, a hollow shell. And the Darai just couldn’t shake the feeling that they shouldn’t be here.
Even so Edge couldn’t just make suggestions without acting on them himself. Carefully, trying to breathe evenly in an attempt to calm him pounding heart and stifle his feeling of wrongness, he approached one of the sarcophagi, inspecting it as thoroughly as he could in the cold, dim light.
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Post by beastly on Oct 2, 2020 16:14:02 GMT -6
[Simon regains his human brain power. He helps search the room (perception, got an 11) and checks out the door ( investigation 16)]
Simon's fur briefly stood on end as he felt something like a cold hand touch his shoulder. He sat, putting a hand to his head and rubbing eye as his human consciousness bubbled up into the slurry that is werewolf-brain. Simon blinked a few times. It was somewhat like waking up from a fever dream, a little foggy but now in reality. He quickly put the situation into proper order, He's here with his coworkers, that Halloween thing got him and them. There's puzzles, and probably something that will want to kill them. Aaalllrrriiiiight. Not ideal, but they can work with this. The wolf mind was still there, and felt some security in working with a 'pack'. They were all competent people. He trusted Aaron's Eric abilities as an agent, and he himself had some training for stuff like this. Sure, it had been a few years, and he was working in an entirely different body than he was used to, but he wasn't completely out of his element. He had a good helping of instincts. He just was a little fuzzy. HA. He gave a soft snort at his own internal joke. Oh boy.
He stood, coins jingling, and followed the conversation. It seemed like Nagi was in a really shitty situation. Hopefully that staff thing Eric tossed him would be help him grasp the world they were in a little better, but talk about a bad deal. Magic gone. He couldn't really say anything about any of this, given his current inability to speak English, so these guys would have to talk over the puzzles themselves. Maybe he would be able to add something in pantomime. His sign language wasn't really up to snuff yet, and he regretted slacking in his lessons. Sure he could fingerspell everything...but god it'd slow things down, and it assumed any of the others could read signs. Regarding the riddles, He personally agreed that one was probably a candle, and the other one was a book. Other ones? Not a clue.
He looked at the doctor, and shrugs, he could give it a shot. What freakshow thing would be flesh in this room? Maybe it's a metaphor? He was gonna be bummed if it was like, a beating heart.
At his name, Simon's ears stood at attention, and he looked over at Aaron's Eric's weird pat beckon thing. He thought it was kind of funny, actually, and made a weird chuckling noise, tail giving a little wag. That thing kinda did what it liked. He wouldn't hold the calling for him like an animal thing against him, normally it would be something that was kinda required. He tapped his head to indicate he's mostly there, and then shrugged like 'dunno man'. It was odd. Just something to roll with, he decided.
He trotted over to Eric's side. Check the room? Yeah. He could do that. He nodded, and put his nose to the ground, sniffing around and generally investigating at his side. He was looking for traps, and possibly the smell of... flesh. Please not a living heart covered in gold paint or something.
He paid special attention to the doors.
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Post by luscen on Oct 2, 2020 16:47:15 GMT -6
[Casmir addresses his teammates to try and establish a method of cooperation. No actions taken, yet.]
Casmir briefly eyed the woman from the club as she brightly greeted the cat-boy, Ari, with the familiarity of a best friend. 'So, we have two people who know each other, and two people who don't know anyone...' he thought, taking stock of the situation as he looked down again at the woman on the tomb, tapping his finger against the the stone surface of her robes, thinking.
He was drawn out of his thoughts by the goblin's question. “The name's Casmir,” he replied as he turned to the goblin, Malgrim, deciding to forgo the need for a false name. When the options were “trust your teammates” or “keep your secrets and probably die horribly,” then it was a bit of a no-brainer.
“And my guess is that he wants something from the little cadre of alchemists over there,” Casmir replied, jerking his thumb towards the eight statues. “They look like they'd have some kind of potion for eternal life.”
The Hunter briefly looked over at the gems nearby before turning his attention to Ari and the woman. “If these two have riddles, so does the one you're next to,” he said, addressing her. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, at least for the moment. “If we know what each riddle is, we can all examine the piles of clues together and hopefully increase our chances of not getting the riddles wrong and dying a painful death right out of the gate. Agreed?”
It would be a little slower doing it the careful way, but so far there wasn't any sign of danger, and in this sort of situation, it was better to move cautiously than to fumble around like a bunch of idiots.
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Oct 2, 2020 21:21:38 GMT -6
[Kira listens to Edge and doesn't readily go for any fruit. Instead she 'reads' the plaque that caught her eye during her glances around and considers its meaning. She then wants to investigate the fruit and see if they look familiar. Since Jedidiah offered to give any volunteers a boost, Kira obediently volunteers to take a closer look at the fruit if he allows her to. (Nature = 16).]
Kira's gaze stuck momentarily on one of the plaques nearby before ducking slightly as Edge crouched to talk to her. She felt the weight of his hand fall gently on her shoulder, a friendly and reassuring weight as opposed to what she was used to in her past. She looked up at him, nodding at his words and recommendation on not eating the tree sweets before they knew anything about them, especially because the tree looked sick. Still, she wondered at them and what their flavor might be.
When Edge stood again to address the others, Kira looked back at the plaque. Her eyes passed over the words written there, and although their engraved presence was still alien to her due to her inability to read, she felt a strong sense of meaning from what she was looking at. It was almost as if when she looked over each symbol, a vision of their meaning appeared in her mind and seemed to speak of collecting the fruit, only the safe fruit. Distracted, she began to inch closer to it, still nervous but now also feeling that familiar tickle of curiosity.
Edge had said not to pick the fruit. But....here it seemed to say they needed to collect the fruit. And some of it was safe? Wringing her hands, Kira looked back at the others, noting that the green haired individual had awaken and was being addressed by the blue-haired individual. Jedidiah and Edge seemed to be engaged as well and the group was now heading towards the blocky things in the room. Kira's eyes drifted back up at the tree and each of the fruit that hung from its branches. Her memory on fruit that Zavijah had given her was foggy at best, but perhaps if she spotted one that looked somewhat familiar?
"Would one of you like to climb onto my back? I'm trying to figure out what species of tree this is and I Do not recognize it at all." Jedidiah asked, to which Kira quickly turned to him and hurried over as if to volunteer. She wanted to take a closer look but also wanted to heed Edge's words as well. Still, a closer look wouldn't hurt perhaps?
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Post by Sharei on Oct 2, 2020 22:20:55 GMT -6
[OOC: Sjira introduces himself to Hau and then explains the puzzle with the rest of the group at Edge's request. He tries to solve it and opens the leftmost coffin. He is subsequently distracted by Dragon's Greed. Will save 5]
Four souls are interred here, a beggar, a blind man, mute and thief. Open the sinner’s sarcophagus. There is one coffin between the mute and the blind man There is one coffin between the thief and beggar. The beggar is on the right. The blind man rests in the right most coffin.
Sjira dragged his eyes away from the glittering gold as Hau approached and introduced himself. The juvenile took the offered hand, remembering Kanagi's lessons on manners at almost the last second.
"Sjira," he said, and because the bat-creature wasn't unsettling anyone and this man had the smell of a fox, he added, "I'm a dragon, you-?"
But his question about Hau's species was interrupted by Edge's suggestions. The juvenile glanced back at the Darai, then pointed at the sarcophagi, trying and failing not to look directly at the beautiful metal decorating its outside.
"There's a riddle here," he explained, and then repeated the inscription so that the others could hear. "Sounds like a typical positioning puzzle. The sinner we're looking for is the thief, and there's probably consequences for opening the wrong one, if we're using normal dungeon crawling rules."
Sjira turned to look at the four lined up caskets.
"If we label them A, B, C, and D, then 'the blind man rests in the right most coffin,' which is D. That makes the mute automatically B, as there's one coffin between him and the blind man. That means that A and C are empty, and if the beggar is on the right, he automatically becomes C. Following through on that, the thief should be in sarcophagi A. That's the one we're looking for."
Sjira probably should have waited for some kind of confirmation from the others, but impulse control had never been one of his selling points. The juvenile grabbed the end of the lid with both hands and slid it off the coffin, the edge hitting the dirt on the other side.
But the dragon's hands lingered, the tips of his fingers brushing over the gold. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears as he looked at it, the familiar Dragon's Greed simmering like a slow burn in his mind. Why was it always so bad with gold?
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Post by Salandis on Oct 2, 2020 23:02:50 GMT -6
[Moana introduces herself, reassures Ari some, and attempts to understand the tile at J. She rolled an 18, with a terrible +1]
“A pleasure to meet you all,” Moana said as the others introduced themselves. I’m Moana, not of Motunui.” She nodded as Malgrim asked about it happening before. “Most remember only a little afterwards – it helps a lot to think of this as a really bad dream.” She rested an arm lightly over Ari’s shoulders as she spoke, offering some comfort as he leaned in to her. Her own memories were maddeningly vague, but very unpleasant. She distantly remembered someone crushed by walls, another shredded by plants, and the edge of memory held her own terror and spine-shattering death.
“And I agree with Malgrim about the riddles,” she said firmly, shaking away the horror-soaked memories. Dwelling on horror would only make her a useless wreak here. “It’s likely not going to be obvious, but as you said – Casmir, was it? - as long as we all examine what we have we can make the best call of it.”
So the child wanted eternal life – not really unreasonable. She walked to the larger male sarcophagi, reading the inscription. “The greatest weapon,” she murmured. “That kings covet, puts warriors to ruin, and ends all battles. The obvious answer would be something from the rack over there, but this whole place has Indiana Jones vibes. It’s probably one of the alters or something.” Bending down to the tile, she tried to make out what was on it.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 2, 2020 23:29:45 GMT -6
Group 1:
Edge, Jedi, Kira, Sjira, Hau
Group 1 map: photos.app.goo.gl/Z2v83Bgee8m5p9mR6 Jedi can see that there is a set of four sarcophagi to the North(A), and six sarcophagi to the West of this chamber (B), and one unusual sarcophagus by itself (C) to the East, as well as one to the South ( E ) by itself. There appears to be writing associated with each set but he cannot read it from this distance and will have to physically investigate. Hau inspects the sarcophagi nearest to him. As he glances upon them, they seem oddly familiar, and suddenly, he realizes they are people he knows and holds dear depicted on the surface of the sarcophagi in loving detail. The marble is inlayed with gold and skillfully carved in their loving memory. On the far side of each is an inscription plaque, but he cannot read it from where he stands. But that cannot be, it must be a mistake… His mothers, his uncle, his brother and sister are all here, along with a sarcophagus he cannot see well from his current perspective. He feels himself drawn to touch the surface of one of the sarcophagi (If he wants to resist this impulse, he can roll a Wisdom roll (Roll d20) Edge wanders away from the others, and sees (E ) empty sarcophagus with the lid pushed off and apparently shattered. The inside appears deep and dark. For all intents and purposes, it appears to be entirely empty, however, Edge can see there is something…off about it. Like there might be more to it than it appears to present with. If he wants to study it further, roll a Wisdom (D20) Kira examines all of the fruits around her, and finds that one of them looks especially delicious and smells just right, while the others smell strange and look questionable. This one, this one single piece seems to call to her to pluck it, and once she does, there is a great feeling of rightness about it. As she holds the ripe, delicious fruit in her hand, a large red gem appears on the plaque before her. Something about the fruit feels perfect, and she has the sense she should keep it with them. It is about the size of a human heart, and it carries a certain warmth to it. Sjira considers the sarcophagi for a long moment, then pulls the lid off sarcophagus A. As the lid tumbles off, he finds the skeletal remains of a man with hands and legs bound together in the sarcophagus, an eye patch over one non-existent eye. In its hand it holds a beautiful yellow gem the size of a fist, which looks rather like topaz. There is a slight glow to the gem as they do so. Your group has acquired 2 crystals. You now have 2 crystals total. Group 2:
Casmir, Moana, Ari, Malgrim Group 2 map: photos.app.goo.gl/Wa7R26ifpwNsDJGp9 Ari feels like he is on the right track, but he needs someone who can read Arcane Symbols to translate, or at least has enough of a handle to guess correctly. He has the sense that something unfortunate may happen if he presses on the wrong plate. Casmir looks down upon the carving of the beautiful female knight. Her hands rest serenely on her breast, hand open. Her inscription says “Bring me the most valuable gem.” The cathedral is very still and quiet as he addresses the others, his voice echoing in the chamber as he speaks. There is a profound stillness to this place, as one might experience deep underwater, or in space, or deep underground. Nothing moves, no wind howls, no air circulates. It is simply silent. Malgrim has the distinct sense that he is on the right track looking for the philosopher’s stone as the source of eternal life. It is certainly interwoven intimately with alchemy, and likely has something to do with the symbols by the statues, as much as the display of stones appear tempting. Those are likely to do with a different question. His footsteps echo in this large and mostly empty chamber as he moves. When he decides to move to begin examining the 40 stones, he can see they range from unpolished gems to simple rocks. He can Investigate them to discern which might be the most valuable. Moana squinted at the tiles, and though she was no expert on alchemy, one stood out to her. The familiar symbol of the coveted Sorcerer’s Stone, an item of great magical power to alchemists. This must be the answer she was looking for. Upon closer inspection, Moana realizes that each altar is placed in front of one of five gemstones in the window; a ruby, sapphire, amethyst, diamond and peridot. In front of the window, before each gem, is an altar with an unlit candle upon each. There is a plaque that says "Light a candle and arrange the offerings properly." Group 3:
Group 3 Map: photos.app.goo.gl/Bte56gncpDgu98jNA
Aaron, Faolan, Simon, Nagi
Nagi has now acquired a crook, which can be used as a walking stick. He finds that he can move rather quietly even on this jingly floor surface, and though it is not the steadiest, he has practiced moving on all kinds of terrain while blind. The crook is mostly ceremonial, but it accepts his weight and seems to be made of a straight branch of hardwood. Insight helps him reason through the riddles; Faolan is on the right track, he feels, with the answers to the first two, they simply have to find the items. R, he senses, might be abstract, and they are looking for something more conceptual than concrete. U is a small and mundane item commonly used, perhaps they will need to reflect on it. Everything they are looking for is here. Simon can smell many things which have been in contact with flesh. None are made of meat, thankfully, but there is a suit of beautiful inlayed armor, small things that are worn, like well-loved jewelry, sewing needles and other small items that have been utilized in life, now deposited in this strange tomb. The door seems to be like any other, though it is made of a heavy wood. With enough pressure, he has the sense it would open outward, but that is not where the goal is. Faolan is overwhelmed by the number of objects in this packed room, which has more than a king’s ransom within it, and cannot seem to discern what he wants, but he has the sense that he is on the right track with the items he has settled on. He moves without much noise as he pads along in the chamber. Not even the clink of coins as he shifts his weight and makes his way towards the stacked shelves. Everything is ornate and overwhelmingly beautiful. Like the contents of a museum around him. His eyes rest on a dazzling gold-inlayed porcelain urn with an image of two young men who seem to be together romantically. Aaron provides Nagi with his crook, and looks for the items that Faolan had mentioned. R, he senses, might be abstract, and they are looking for something more conceptual than concrete. U is a small and mundane item commonly used, perhaps they will need to reflect on it further. Everything they are looking for is here. After a few minutes of careful searching, Aaron finds a beautiful tome with hand drawn lettering in careful and cramped calligraphy, though any attempt to read its contents also gives him a headache. It has gold-leaf inlayed on the front and detailed. Some kind of magic is within. It appears to be the right size and shape for the appropriate pedestal, and when he places it into the appropriate receptacle, a beautiful clear crystal, fist-sized, and amber-colored appears. While sculking about in the sparkling room, he also finds an ornate candlestick holder with a candle made of rare and precious wax, which suits Faolan’s solution. When placed upon its pedestal, it transforms into a beautiful fist-sized emerald gem. The last has many possibilities, but he notes, sitting on its own in the corner, unadorned, is a simple wood and glass hourglass. There is nothing outwardly precious about this object, especially when surrounded by so many jewel-encrusted items, and yet it sticks out in his brain as being important.
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Post by Marshmallow on Oct 3, 2020 7:55:22 GMT -6
[Nagi is handed a cane. He stays put and tries to think about the riddles (Insight 19), and comes to the conclusion that the answer to one of them must be a Thimble. He is sure the answer to the item puzzle is more abstract, and tells the others to look for something that could be symbolic of something valuable.]
Nagi's brow furrowed in further confusion. Aaron's explanation was categorical and direct, but it still left a wide, question-filled gap in understanding for one who lacked the agent's training. Nagi scrubbed a hand through his hair as he tried to puzzle things out.
"Aaron, I'm just a therapist. I don't suppose there's a simpler way to put that for those of us who aren't field agents?" he sighed. There was an uneasy quaver in the kirin's voice that was at odds with his usual carefree demeanor. At the very least 'play it safe' was simple and to the point. He could do that much. Well, sort of... It would have been easier if he had access to any of his magic, but perhaps that was the point. Whoever had abducted them clearly didn't want to make things simple, the riddles were proof enough of that.
Abruptly, an object was pressed into Nagi's hands. It took the kirin a confused moment to realize he had been handed a cane. It wasn't a proper white cane by any stretch, but it was straight and sturdy. Better than nothing, he supposed. "Thanks."
The blind man took a steadying breath and tried to put his focus on the task at hand. The others, accustomed to whatever "anomalous event" this was, were already searching for the answers while he was still floundering over the what and why. If he couldn't assist in the searching, he could at least help with the thinking. He'd had a fondness for word games as a fawn, hopefully that practice would come in useful now.
Faolan had pointed out the most likely answers to two of the four. When it came to identifying valuable objects, Nagi was useless without sight - but some intuition told him it wasn't literal, monetary worth they had to judge. "The 'valuable item' has to be something abstract, I think. Riddles like these are almost never so literal. Look for something... symbolic," he mused aloud. The last riddle was a bit tougher, though. He frowned gently in thought while he turned the words over in his head. There was a frustrating sense that he was close to an answer, that it had to be something he knew - something he used frequently, even. Something far more mundane than the riddle made it out to be with its gruesome description...
A possible answer jumped to mind after a long silence. "Could it be a thimble?" he asked the room. "Open-ended, and a fingertip is living flesh... I'm less sure about the hive part, but I get the feeling it's something like that; a small, normal item. ... How would we even find a thimble in this place? I don't suppose there are any sewing or embroidery kits laying around?"
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