Pocky enjoys the warmth of Ci-Ci’s spell.
“That feels good... and it does more for me than my own self-healing meditation.” She isn’t sure if anyone has a healing wand, but does mention, “I should certainly heal one way or another before taking any risks. While I am capable of healing myself, too much of that will drain my ki—my fighting spirit, so to speak.
“That abomination did a number on me just now, so is there a means of healing our wounds—mine and Theo’s—that will still keep us in prime condition for the next impossible beast?”
Interrupting the Hatter/Rabbit argument, Mara asked Theophilus, "Excuse me, do you think you could heal Pocky? My healing wand is running low. And don't forget to patch yourself up too."
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Theophilus looks at Mara with a wide smile.
Of course, my dear. Please line up in diagonally.
Theophilus takes out the Wand of Cure Moderate and Wand of Cure Light.
You've discovered the fate of the missing Elder but the wards to the Mysterium have yet to be reset. You have yet to find Lowls and the fate of his goal, the Necronomicon. Only a single angel statue remains to be activated before you can progress deeper.
Only a single angel statue remains to be activated before you can progress deeper.
Dervak re-activates Shield (wand now at 32 charges) and takes the lead.
"I don't suppose any of you have the means of seeing through doors? Or opening doors from a distance?
I can take the lead... but if those Axiomites choose to engage us, I think Allegra or Pocky would be better suited to fight them."
Pocky replies, “My ability to do something like that is extremely limited, I’m afraid. That is, I can become like a cloud—floating as I please through any wall, door, ceiling or floor. But it is not a trick I can repeat often.”
Noting the enemy was mentioned by name, Pocky asks, “Do you know any weaknesses of these Axiomites? Fire? Lightning? Neither did much to the crushing mass of organs.”
"Might be that if we leave the door to their room closed, they won't come out looking for a fight.
We didn't see the other angel head in their room."
Theophilus seems to be looking at the Axomite room nervously.
"Axiomites? Are they bound here in some fashion?"
Theophilus watches the Axomite chamber while speaking; his blue eyes never leaving it.
Not too certain we were able to get a solid look for a Statue before dying...
The White Rabbit puffs out his chest.
Theo nods.
Perhaps, we search the remaining center chambers; and we may get lucky.
He sadly shakes his head.
Divination isn't my specialty; although I may amend that soon!
Theo begins trudging that way....
"Allegra, there was an enchanted mirror that was supposed to summon Axiomites to defend the library.
Something went wrong and the mirror summoned those hounds.
But maybe it did also summon the Axiomites too.
They had an Inevitable with them, and attacked us as soon as we opened the door."
"A shame to destroy them, but if we cannot treat with them, so be it."
She's ready to go.
"Well, if anyone is qualified to negotiate with the supernatural constabulary, it's her," Ci Ci says, inclining her head towards Allegra.
"I don't see any reason to open the door to their room unless we have looked everywhere else and can't find the last statue.
Let's try another door first. Southwest?"
After a moment where Theo gets turned around from the protections, the hatter merely takes a circuitous route through the misty hallways. Luckily there were no otherworldly dangers to greet him.
He reaches for the door covered in illusions to find yet another collection of books. At least nothing wants to eat his face. Glancing through the material Theo finds it is a collection focused on the art of calling and binding outsiders. Massive tomes filled with nothing but diagrams for summoning circles sit alongside collected research regarding some of the most effective methods of bargaining for services.
Perhaps a clue as to how to handle the Axomites lies within?
He awaits in the hallway until Dervak gives the ok...
Once one of the frontline characters had entered the new room, Mara followed and scanned the book collection for magic auras.
Then she focused in on the most promising tomes for study.
Allegra will take a quick look through the collection as well. "These could certainly come in handy later. They're probably quite valuable, and at the very least we shouldn't leave them just laying around. This kind of knowledge can be dangerous in the wrong hands."
The White Rabbit whistles innocently.
"Okay, who wants to get the last door, the Southeast room? This time let's check it for traps and not have Theophilus open the door. We got lucky this time."
With two other warriors in the party now, Dervak does not insist on going in front, but he will if neither of the others wants to.
As usual, he will use a charge of Shield before the next door is opened (wand to 31).
Pocky sneaks ahead a bit, watching the hall on the way for enemies or traps. If she makes it unhindered, she checks the SE door for traps.
This collection encompasses hundreds of books, scrolls, and manuals detailing the esoteric processes involving in creation magic. They explore the various methods to call matter into being and how to shape that matter in useful ways. One of the shelves here holds dozens of books on engineering and materials, while another contains books describing the steps needed to create golems and other constructs. On the shelves, mixed among the manuals, are wooden cases of tools and various models of creatures and constructs.
Nestled in the corner is the final angel statue needed to progress into the Soul of the Mysterium, however it is damaged and the head refuses to turn. You fear if you try to force the head it will damage the mechanisms.
After trying unsuccessfully to turn the head of the statue, Mara declared, "There's got to be some way of activating it!" She spent a few minutes carefully examining the statue for a hidden mechanism. Kat would know how to fix this, she thought bitterly.
Theophilus approaches the broken statue. He murmurs. He hums. He absently scratches his armpit. Shaking his head sadly, he offers
Alas, I can only offer Guidance.
The White Rabbit just shakes his head.
"I wish Kat was still with us.
Theophilus, can you summon something that can help?"
Dervak takes a look at the mechanisms.
You know a thought just came to me! Semore could possibly disable this devise!
The White Rabbit kicks Theo!
Pocky is saddened by the mention of Kat. “Whether your desire is to avenge your friend or honor her sacrifice by completing the mission, we are in this together now.”
Not that the nun thinks vengeance would be a wise move, but had she known Kat, she would certainly want to end Kat’s killers. Hearing words of caution from an ‘objective’ point-of-view would surely fuel this desire.
While Mara is able to notice every detail of the statue her lack of specific knowledge about mechanical devices limits her ability to do anything about it. But she happens to see among the stacks of books and scrolls a detailed set of schematics for the angel statue mechanisms.
Even with the schematics Dervak is unable to repair any of the damage and he hears the grinding of gears as he seems to break the mechanism.
Theophilus decides (in his own wisdom) that he will summon Semore.
I have decided to Summon Semore to Disable this here devise!
The White Rabbit just shakes his head.
Allegra will guidance this summon too.
Seymour approaches the statue and you look on in horror as the emaciated demon rips the head off the angel in what seems to be the most violent way possible. Before you can stop him he gathers a large dollop of acidic goo covering his body and liberally applies it to the interior of the statue, housing the mechanism.
For all the violence and apparent damage Seymour's jury-rigging works. He reaches into the now headless angel statue twists something and you hear the nearby stairs down open to you.
He's, uh... a Babau demon.
You descend down the stairs, carved to look like the wings and backs of angels. While it is still carved from bedrock like the rest of the Mysterium's lower levels it nevertheless feels otherworldly and distant from reality, making it hard to imagine that a teeming cosmopolitan city carries on daily life as normal above you.
This curious chamber is a little over thirty feet to a side. Instead of normal walls, hundreds of statues of angelic beings, many bearing spears and other weapons and others wearing two-colored masks, make up the walls of this chamber. The uneven floor is formed from carved faces. The sculptures appear unnervingly realistic with dynamic poses that when viewed from your peripheral vision they could step out of the walls at any moment.
At the heart of the room is a single object supported by a quartet of stone hands—a peculiar, slightly rusted iron cube about a foot square. The box features symbols and images on its sides, and has a series of movable concentric rings on the top bearing smaller symbols that correlate to the images on the sides. The symbols are sometimes sigils, sometimes words in different languages, and at other times simply images that represent things such as serpents, phoenixes, bolts of lightning, an infant, laborers building a structure, warfare, a flowing river, a scouring wind, a blazing fire, moldering fungi, and fruiting plants.
Mara recoiled in disgust at the horrible emaciated creature that Theophilus summoned. She watched in dismay as it ripped of the head of the statue and performed its "repairs". Shaken by what she had just witnessed, she followed her companions down the newly revealed stairs.
The room below gave her the creeps, even thought the realistic carvings were of angelic beings. After recovering her composure, she approached symbol-covered box and studied it. After a moment she told her allies, "This appears to be a puzzle box. These sigils are symbols of creation and destruction. If we can figure out the right combination, it should open the way to the Soul of the Mysterium."
"Puzzles aren't really my specialty, but I'll be happy to offer suggestions," Ci Ci says.
As he looks at the box, a memory of a voice echoes in Dervak's mind...
We have such sights to show you!
He shakes his head.
"Yeah. I think you are right Mara. Seems like a job for Theophilus!"
Theophilus watches proudly the work of Semore.
Such an artist, my dear Semore.
The Bone devil spits acid at him.
Downstairs the gentleman looks at the impressions with a look of horror.
Do what now?
Theophilus begins to figure out...
Theo casts Fox's Cunning on The White Rabbit.
The White Rabbit attempts to aid....
The White Rabbit seems to be preparing a parachute....
Before Theo started on the puzzle box, Mara intervened with the heavens spirits on his behalf, for good fortune, and started to chant. She did her best to offer her suggestions for how to proceed.
"That sunbeam clearly should be pointing towards this...thing."
Pocky is stumped, but eventually has a stroke of brilliance. “Oh! Ooh! Ohh, I get it, you just... y’know, y’know—yeah. That!”
Theo begins to twist and turn the symbols on the puzzle box like some sort of cube savant, but gets hung up a couple of times. Luckily his friends are able offer a bit of advice that while not be the correct solution jostle's something loose in the hatter's brain and puts him back on the correct track.
3 minutes later
Theo stops fiddling with the cube satisfied that the rings on the top correlate to the images of creation and destruction on the opposite side of the box. A strange grating sound echoes from within, and the box starts to slowly expand outward with a low hum to form a 1ft tall and 10ft wide platform with a 5ft wide square hole on top of the platform. The entrance to the unknown is so dark that no one is able to view what lays beyond the threshold.
Theophilus wipes his forehead with an offered handkerchief from The White Rabbit. Breathing hard, perspiration pouring down his high brow like tears shed by a goblin denied food, fire and fun. He looks a bit out of sorts.
I may have gotten a splinter!
Watching the evolving platform twist and twirl into some sort of ceiling door into the darkness, the Witch winces.
I am certain that it will lead us to our doom...
He casts Dancing Lights, sending them up into the darkness....