Lashing out with a blast of cold, Yasmin's magic bursts a network of hair-line cracks across the machine's armour... cracks which Murassa, Titania and Rallos exploit with their increasingly devastating attacks - the last of the blows, a thrust from Rallos' rapier sends the second of the ancient guardians to the floor... it sparks a few times, flashes of blue light sporadically flaring, before falling forever dormant...
"All in a day's work," says Yasmin, feeling pretty cocky after the team obliterates the enemy automata in seconds. "Anyone looking for some spare parts?"
She casts Detect Magic again, trying to decipher the nature of the magical auras to the north and the south of them. . "Careful, there's a strong conjuration aura heading toward those doors on either side. Could be some sort of summoning magic or trap."
"From the halls or from the double doors ahead," Tot asks, feeling just a little wary about magic auras on doors.
It is only within the side corridors, to the north and to the south, that the swirling conjuration auras exist... to the east, the main double doors seem relatively benign. The longer Yasmin considers the auras, the more confused as to their purpose or likely effect she becomes... they seem contained, engineered and very specifically shaped - far more so than if they were a spontaneous spell... but why?
As the group consider the side corridors, the temperature in the main hallway quickly rising to a comfortable ambient warmth, there comes the sound of a tolling bell - a wind rushes in from the landing outside, and the bronze doors clang shut. A golden rune glows over the door for a moment before the wind dies away leaving the air stale and tinged with wisps of slate-grey smoke.
Yasmin, you're right, it could be useful to get a few spare parts. Wasn't the mage in town interested in old Azlani automatons? Maybe he would be willing to get those for a price.
Ea glances at the symbol before it disappears
Another old Sarenite symbol, of course.
Yasmin, who had been busy studying the magic auras, is startled by not only the sound of the bell but the powerful abjuration aura that flares up once again. "So . . . the good news is that whatever magic was sealing that door has returned, so any evil creatures trapped in here can't get out. The bad news is that we're also trapped in here. I mean, I could try to teleport us out. Maybe? I don't know, I think the bad news is really bad." Yasmin's heart sinks imagining the prospect of being trapped in this tomb, though she's not ready to just give up. "The sound of the bell was quite strange. Was anyone able to tell where it came from? Could it mean something for our escape?"
"That or it was foretelling our doom," Tot says as she turns and marches up to the doors that had just sealed them in. Her eyes glow red for a moment before she tries to cut her way through the door with her adamantine blade.
"Yeah, I suppose that's also possible." Yasmin pulls out the dagger that she never uses and then lets go. But the dagger remains hovering in the air. "I guess it's time to do some experiments to understand this place? I'm going to test out one of these auras. Be ready for something weird to happen." Keeping some distance, she tries to move the dagger into one of the auras to the south see what might happen.
I could ask Pharasma for guidance and counsel. There is probably a way out, and Rallos will find it.
As you wish... Rallos says as he searches the room using his keen senses and trained insticts to find a way out of the room.
The dagger slowly floats towards one of the southern doors... glinting gently in the light as it moves nothing appears to happen at first, it floats closer to the side passage before Yasmin feels something tugging at it - pulling it away from Yasmin and towards the doors. For a moment, the blade - which is pointing towards the door - appears to stretch to two times its length and become slightly translucent at the same time... and then, despite Yasmin's attempts to keep the dagger aloft, it falls to the floor.
- somehow it feels like Yasmin's ability to maintain the spell only reaches out as far as the side passage...
- the doors back out of this corridor and to the staircase are locked, yet it does not seem to be physical in nature... more that there is something arcane, and immensely powerful, preventing the doors from opening once more...
"That's really strange." Yasmin feels puzzled as her dagger crosses the threshold and she loses control of it. "I can't seem to reach the dagger anymore. It could be that there's just magic cutting it off, but I can't help but wonder if somehow that dagger is now farther away from us than it looks, like there's some sort of extradimensional connection there."
Picking up a spare part from one of the automatons, Yasmin magically moves it toward the north aura, to see if there's a similar effect.
"I guess we might be better off avoiding these auras for now," she suggests.
The loose plate, smashed clear of one of the automata and lifted by Yasmin's magicks, hovers northwards... and then, moreorless at the same distance as the dagger was before it, it distorts and slightly fades... and then clatters, noiselessly, to the floor...
Hmm...very odd...i wonder if it does the same to other objects... Rallos says as he grabs a piece of the automatin and throws it the same direction as the dagger
Continuing her experimentation, Yasmin tries to send some Dancing Lights through the auras, to see if she can manage to maintain them on the other side.
That's an interesting theory, Murassa. But its takes a special kind of magic to travel between planes.
Again and again, Titania's impressive blade hacks into the great wood of the closed doors... splinters, dust and shards of metal fly in all directions as she repeatedly assails the mighty structure... yet, when she stands back and inspects the damage done, there is naught - the doors stand as imposing and as sturdy as the day they were first carved...
Having little more luck than Titania, Yasmin and Rallos send various items and spells down the side passages... Rallos' plate of automata junk arcs through the air - and, with more momentum than the previous items carried by magic, passes the items lying on the floor and phases out of view entirely - and, if it falls to the ground out of sight, no sound makes its way back to Rallos. Yasmin's lights are only sustainable up to the point where the dagger fell... as she tries to push them further, they blink out of existence.
"I could believe anything about these magic auras right now," says Yasmin, terribly confused about what she's seeing. "Still say our best bet is to avoid them until later. Maybe we'll learn something further within through those double-doors?"
Panting slightly, Tot stands looking at the doors in disbelief.
"How? How is it not doing anything?"
With a groan, she slouches and leans forward until she bumps her head into the unyielding stone.
"Why do I always get the missions that go whacky," she asks no-one in particular.
After a few minutes she turns around and follows Yasmin's suggestion about looking at the door.
Rallos looks at the door, checking for any clue how to get by.
The doors at the end of the corridor are an imposing bronze structure... embossed with seemingly abstract symbols, a soft light bleeds around the edges of the doors. Rallos, cautious in case of any traps, examines the doors - and finds little of note, they are neither locked nor trapped. And so, nodding to his companions, Rallos pushes the doors open... The large, octagonal room beyond features a passage or alcove in each of its eight sides.
An eerie blue-and-yellow flame dances within a large central pit in the middle of the chamber - In an alcove directly opposite the main entrance stands a red stone statue of a robed woman, her arms lifted to the sky and her eyes gleaming like jewels. Arched passageways lead to the north and to the south.
Marveling at the flickering flame and the statue, Yasmin wonders what she's seeing. She again keeps a keen eye out for auras or magical signatures, especially given how this tomb was suffused in magic.
Ea looks at the statue, trying to find out any historical clues
Titania is less interested in the statue than in the passages leading out.
- the statue appears to be of someone in the midst of performing a summoning ritual... yet, who this person is supposed to be, isn't immediately obvious to Ea.
- the passageways to the north and south lead to sturdy doors (the passageway to the north leads almost immediately to a door whilst heading southwards, there are a couple of corners before one arrives at the door)... both showing signs of having been scorched with fire.
Yasmin's examination of the arcane reveals that there is a strong conjuration aura focussed upon the central pit... it swirls around the entirety of the chamber... and, as she watches, she 'sees' the auras of all of her friends - and her own magicks - stretching out towards the flame in the centre of the chamber... moments later a whoosh of heated air rushes through the chamber and fires ignite upon the walls. In three of the alcoves, chanting creatures of dark blue and purple flames appear.
The elementals endlessly chant in a staccato rhythm... the phrases, whatever they are, repeat over and over again... thus far, the creatures seem to have little interest in the friends within the chamber.
"I don't know what's going on here, but I just saw all of our magical auras stretching out toward the flame in the room, followed by these flame creatures appearing. It's like our magical items somehow fueled the fire."
Come on, Yasmin...You don't recognise shadowfire creatures when you see them? They aren't that common, I agree. They were elementals of Fire perverted by evil cults. So far, they pay no interest in us. But they would be "happy" to sacrifice new lifes to their dark mistress Yarrix, I heard.
Ea knack for eerie langages and strange knowledges is sometimes spooky
Yasmin's deduction of the way on which the auras were moving... and what it meant are accurate - it seems that the fire in the middle of the room was drawing magical energy from the group's arcane items... and indeed from Yasmin's spell...
The sorceress was rather impressed that Ea understood everything. Though, after thinking on it more, she's not that surprised - it seemed to fit Ea perfectly. "Alright, these are evil fire creatures wanting to make a sacrifice to Yarrix? So why in the Abyss are they ignoring us?"
"Forgive me if I'm not waiting to find out," Titania says as she moves next to the closest of the strange creatures and does her best to "behead" it.
"Is now really the time to be starting an argument with me," Titania snarls.
And here I thought Gray was a hothead.... Rallos sighs as he whips out his blade a lnd prepares for combat.
Ea looks at the Hellknight as she attacks the creatures
This doesn't bode well..
Murassa thinks about his blade, and whether the fire will draw power from it... and, from the little he has witnessed so far, can not be sure.
Stepping forwards with some urgency, Titania swings her blade... trying to catch the chanting figure with its honed edge...
...suddenly, as Titania's blade strikes, the black fires flickering across the shadowy creatures 'burn' with a greater ferocity and the chanting becomes more insistent...
Rallos stepstowards the nearest elemental and slashes at it twice with his blade.
[ooc] on phone atm....rolled sneak in case they are not immune...though they likely are...1d6 is acid as well[/dice]
"Haven't you learn anything about warning us, Tot?" Yasmin takes a step toward Titania and Murassa and attempts to cast a protection spell on them and herself, to keep them cool when faced with damaging heat and fire.
"I thought the ominous chant of DOOM was the warning!"
"Sorry! Next time I'll let them finish the damn spell and let whatever godsdamned monster comes from it eat you!"
As Yasmin casts her spell, she feels the fire in the centre hungrily reach towards her magicks - the flames flicker and pull at her spell... but, concentrating hard, she holds on to the arcana for long enough for her friends to feel the benefit of her powers...
...and, rushing forwards, both Rallos and Murassa attack the chanting creatures - their blades hitting the large creatures as they make their exaltations within the alcoves...
Ea uses the power of Pharasma to send a blast of greyish energy toward the creatures, bringing them closer to the embrace of her Goddess
Ea's energies wash out across the room and into the alcoves... swirling and eddying around the shadow creatures yet not diminishing their dark flames at all...
...and then, looming out of the alcoves in which they had appeared, the creatures retaliate - slamming and crashing against the friends.
...all except the one in the alcove nearest to Ea which, ignoring the explosion of violence, carries on its chanting.
Titania's black blade dances as she slashes at the elemental again and again.
The fire, burning with increasing brightness since the friends entered the chamber, is slightly recessed into the floor within a stone-worked fire pit...
Titania's blade twice sweeps through the fiery body of the elemental... the metal edge catching and trailing smears of black flame outside of the alcove...