Eramay's hand strays towards the hilt of her scimitar.
"The chandelier is alive? Well, what is it saying?" she asks, trying to sense if anything else in the manor is being alerted.
Shohiraj listens to Rataji's explanation, but isn't especially relieved.
"And what the spheres' an aeon? And why is it showing what looks like all nine Hells running out of here? That a warning, is it a spy?"
|
Rataji watches the chandelier for any sign of movement and calmly states, "Theletos aeons have the ability to grant creatures a glimpse of their future by touching them and showing them a telepathic vision. I believe these mirrors are a way for them to communicate without touching you. I saw a coin with a Mwangi face on it and then I saw the compound in chaos. I hope this scene comes true after we find the information we need."
All of you visualize a set of iron doors slamming closed. A jagged crystalline form then hovers before the doors and flings them open to show metallic hallways beyond strewn with bodies. The visual then shows versions of each of you cautiously entering the hallways and marveling at the corpses.
Shohiraj takes in the vision grimly. Regainaing some of her composure, she gritted whispers to Rataji, Eramay, and the others in the room.
"That slaughter, that our 'future' then? And is it trying to say it'll open the way for us? Why, what's it's stake? And why can't it just tell us where the place is 'stead of giving a picture show? "
She looks down the east hall. "That lady's here we should sneak up and knock her out quick. Only she has the key means no one else'll interrupt a search of the place.
"Might mean we kill them all. It would mean we did as ordered and made an example... Yet the cristalline figure doesn't resemble any of us..." Thestil muses, apparently intrigued.
"Well... we've better check out this woman and get what we need from her. We'll worry about the future after that"
Rataji looks down both hallways and doesn't see or hear any signs of activity. He does note that there are doors on opposite sides of each hallway.
"You are offering us a way in?" Eramay asks the aeon, trying to gauge its intention. "If the corpsesare already there, half our work is done for us," she adds.
Eramay sees a vision of a set of scales teetering as if unbalanced. One side shrinks down as if to represent a debt unpaid. This vision fades and is replaced by a vision of breaking chains, flying birds, and free-falling rocks. An infant appears surrounded by the vacuum of space moving as it wishes throughout, unfrightened.
Unnerved and frustrated by the aeon's visions, Shohiraj leaves Eramay and the others to commune with it and carefully makes her way down the eastern hall, listening to the southern door, then the northern one for any signs of movement in the rooms beyond.
Shohiraj does not hear any signs of movement behind either of the doors.
Feeling confident the way is currently clear, Shohiraj opens the northern-most door.
The door opens to a sizable bedroom, which contains a large canopy bed, a table surrounded by 3 chairs, a fireplace, and several shelves. The rooms smells slightly musty and there is a light coating of dust on the table, as though it has not been used recently. Something seems off to you about the construction of the bed frame, but you can't quite place it.
Looking a bit more closely, Zurnzal notices that rather than being a single piece, the bed frame is multiple pieces that appear hinged together. The bed looks like it could be folded against the wall via these hinges. However, if you try to apply the amount of force you think would be appropriate to move it, it doesn't budge.
Eramay tries to wrap her head around the strange images, hoping to piece together some sort of coherent intent.
[ooc]Zurnzal - You think you can figure out the mechanism if you take long enough to Take 20 on Perception.[ooc]
The Theletos sees Eramay struggling to understand and shows her images of a prisoner walking free from his cell, a rabbit running through a field, and a fish swimming through a sea. Those visions fade and are replaced by the vision of unbalanced scales coming into balance.
As the half-orc goes about manhandling the bed, Shohiraj pokes her head back out to call down to the cavalier. "How's it Em? Shiner saying what it wants or how we get below yet? Or still drawing us in circles. 'Cause if the latter, we may have found something in here. Keep your eyes posted - me and Z need to check it out."
She then ducks back in to assist Zurnzal with searching for the bed's secret.
"Something about prisoners being free and rabbits running through fields. But after that, something with scales being balanced. It seems like it wants something evened?"
Shrugging, and leaving the theletos to its machinations, Eramay joins Zurnzal and Shohiraj in the bedroom.
"Need a hand?"
Thestil looks at the others with mild interest:"I don't think this is my field of expertise..." she mumbles.
After taking some time to thoroughly search the bedroom, Shohiraj discerns that the bed can be folded against the wall by manipulating the log holder in the fireplace in a series of movements. Assuming she does this, the bed folds against the wall revealing a steel trapdoor covered in runes.
Rataji easily recognizes them as being a mechanism to both strengthen the door and bear a ritual means of unlocking it.
Shohiraj notices that there also seems to be a trap on the door, which will be set off if the ritual is not performed or the trap is not disabled.
"Something about prisoners being free and rabbits running through fields. But after that, something with scales being balanced. It seems like it wants something evened?"
"Well tell it if there's any prisoners under they're, they're welcome to leave behind us. Apart from that I'm all out of rabbits."
---
After taking some time to thoroughly search the bedroom, Shohiraj discerns that the bed can be folded against the wall by manipulating the log holder in the fireplace in a series of movements. Assuming she does this, the bed folds against the wall revealing a steel trapdoor covered in runes.Rataji easily recognizes them as being a mechanism to both strengthen the door and bear a ritual means of unlocking it.
Shohiraj notices that there also seems to be a trap on the door, which will be set off if the ritual is not performed or the trap is not disabled.
Shohiraj takes a step back from the trapdoor concealed under the bed.
"Welp, door under the bed. Locked up tight, warded, and a trap as a cherry. Don't suppose any'll lay coin this is another secret entrance?"
She looks over at Rataji. Look wiz, I can see there's some sort of ritual that'll make this thing pop open., and a trap and bars to keep it shut elsewise. But runes were always more your thing. Got any clue as to what we're looking at? Preferably without touching anything."
The Taldan woman also notices the room starting to get crowded. "Just in case, best have as few in here as possible at a time 'til its popped, one way or the other. Any of you want to help Rataji ID this, come in one or two at a time, otherwise, keep watch. Maybe see if that curve-talking chandelier is any clearer to the rest of you. And where'd that tiefling go?"
Eramay will step to the doorway of the room, but is tired of trying to make sense of the chandelier's illlusory pantomime.
"Don't suppose you can open the door for us, can you?" she mutters, half-under-her-breath, certainly loud enough for the aeon to hear. "Got an image of the last person to come through here? Anything helpful?"
Calistria's garters, Eramay, you're bargaining with a damn chandelier, she swears at herself.
Carefully inspecting the runes, Rataji can't quite decipher how the ritual is to be performed, but he does notice a couple small brownish red droplets that appear to have dried onto the door, as if they were splattered there some time ago.
Thestil allows Rataji and Shohiraji to work on the trap door and its mechanism. Amd keeps herself conveniently distant from the proceedings...
"Well," Shohiraj says to Rataji. "Think you grok how to get those runes out? Or can we just go with the old 'point-dispel-clik' routine?"
While she waits for the wizard to do his part the rogue moves back into the main room for one last tete-a-tete with the aeon. "And you. We see there's a door there. Some type of magic steps to get it open. Do you know them? Can you tell us? Sooner that door slides right, sooner things below can come out or you can go down, or whatever you want. Do. You. Know. The. Ritual? And if the answers more rabbits I swear to gods..."
Shohiraj takes a white-ish linen from nearby and does her best to draw a door, then runes, then a question mark, then the runes vanishing on it with her makeup form the disguise kit. You want to play pictionary rather than words? Fine, try it your way.
Shohiraj is given 3 visions in rapid succession. First, rabbits running free. Second, a man handing a merchant some coins in exchange for a loaf of bread. Third, the trapdoor sliding open.
Shohiraj is about to hand one of her daggers to Rataji, when she takes notice of the blood spatter. The spatter pattern does not look like it came from a dagger cut to her, and she knows dagger cuts well.
"Huh, good plan. But if it's just blood that does the trick, then it ain't from a sticker. At least not a simple slice, and I don't think any of us is crazy to get on the altar slab if more's needed."
The rogue ducks her head back out, again. Hey, Rataji's got a thought as to what the trick is, but we're not quite there. Thinks it may be some type of blood gift, but we don't know what weird weapon these crazies might need to do the trick. Any of you pass a first aid class in your time?"
[dice=Heal]
Shohiraj gives one last look at the blood spatter pattern. "Deal." she also says to Rataji.
"All right, here it goes..." Shohiraj whispers a quick prayer to whoever's listening. "Those of you not helping may want to back up. Into the hall.
She then takes out her tools and, carefully, gets to work.
Shohiraj easily slips a small canister of gas out of the door mechanism. Rataji attempts to dispel the locking mechanism, but is unsuccessful.
Flustered, Shohiraj fumes to the rest of the crew. "Damn it to the Nine hells, that thing's locked up tight. It'd be some Tortureous work to break that lock the hard way. A real Pain too. Doubt a Cat or a rat could squeeze even a Tail through there.in there." She turns to the doppelganger in the group. "Thestil, you're lot's good at getting into the heads of people: what might a crazy Kuthie think to do to get some blood on the sheets?"
"Your choice of words just gave me the idea we might need to get someone and torture him or her in order to open the lock. What about we get the person running this place? Did we get a cat o'nione tails somewhere? Could get in handy... and I think I saw one in the Khutute Shrine..." answers Thestil
"Your choice of words just gave me the idea we might need to get someone and torture him or her in order to open the lock. What about we get the person running this place? Did we get a cat o'nione tails somewhere? Could get in handy... and I think I saw one in the Khutute Shrine..." answers Thestil
"Oh? What do I know? Here's one? I had forgotten I took it..." Thestil adds.
