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Mae cocks her head to the side, oversized eyes bulging a bit as she looks at the floating runes "What is this? A fire fly made of words? Sunny, come help us!" Mae steps forward after the flames pass, pulling out her well used wand and tapping Uriel on the backside with it.
Sunny slides into the room with style, grace, and a bad temper. She'd been eyeing up all those tasty books when Mae gave the order. BLOOOP!
She leans back and sends a lunger at the threat.
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"A magical rune that a detect magic spell can't spot. Of course!" Uriel sighs.
When the strange glowing rune glows brightly, then ejaculates a cone of searing flame that splooges all over Uriel, he's about ready to file a formal complaint with the worthless priests in charge of this place.
"Thanks, Lady Mae." The grippli druid heals most of the burns.
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Damien and Uriel find difficulty in making contact with the surprisingly agile rune, but fortunately the acidic strikes from both Lucina and Sunny make contact, scorings its surface heavily. Lady Mae patches up Uriel almost immediately, even before the blisters have begun to pop.
The rune construct begins to glow once again...
...yet the energies fade as it tries to avoid your blows!
Round 1:
Rune Guardian (-7 hp)
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Lady Mae (15/15 hp)
Annilda (14/14 hp, Mage Armor)
Damien (18/18 hp)
Lucina (8/8 hp)
Uriel (17/19 hp)
Ruby (12/13 hp)
Sunny (16/16 hp)
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Current Effects: Uriel Light spell, Damien Light spell, Annilda *Virtue spell.
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Annilda connects solidly with the stone rune, nearly bruising her wrist in the process, but Uriel finally puts an end to the pesky guardian with a final blow from his sword.
With the threat disposed of, you complete your search of the library unmolested. All of the writing in the room (wall carvings and tablets) is in Thassilonian so translation will be required here. A thorough search of the stone tablets finds three that function as magical scrolls, though they weigh 5 pounds apiece. One is an arcane scroll of hold portal and identify, and the other two are divine scrolls of remove disease and shatter.
In addition, you notice one symbol on the wall that seems different from the rest. Closer inspection reveals that the glyph can be detached from the wall. You do not recall seeing this particular glyph before.
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Status:
Annilda (14/14 hp, Mage Armor)
Damien (17/18 hp)
Lady Mae (15/15 hp)
Lucina (8/8 hp)
Uriel (17/19 hp)
Ruby (12/13 hp)
Sunny (16/16 hp)
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Current Effects: Uriel Light spell, Damien Light spell, Annilda *Virtue spell.
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Chime of Opening: 3 charges left.
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"Hah! I hope so; it'd be nice to have some satisfaction out of this place for a change," Lucina remarks. She scowls as she flips through a few of the books, unable to understand their words. "We need an interpreter or something to read these! Maybe those priests or the Society will be able to make sense of them later, once we get back topside."
As she pockets the 5 lb hunk of stone tablet with a grunt, Lucina turns her attention to the strange glyph...
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"Uriel Rune-slayer. Hmm... " The aasimar considers the appellation's potential. "Naw. Sounds too much like a zealous Galtan book-burner."
Uriel casts an orison and reads the spells inscribed on the stone tablets. "I can cast remove disease and shatter, but I can't cast identify or hold portal. Anybody else want one or more of these? They're a little heavy."
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"Let me take a look at those tablets." She takes a close look, then sits cross-legged and reads them. "Calistria, help me understand the text guarded by these foolish clerics!"
She gains the ability to Comprehend Languages for the next 10 minutes. She begins translating the words behind the tomes.
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Annilda realizes the spell will not last nearly long enough to decipher all of the writings here, so she spends the time wisely here, skimming the tablets as best she can. even before the spell expires she realizes most of the writings deal with the mundane details of daily life, but there are also plenty of historical texts, religious treatises, and arcane grimoires that can shed light on the history and magic of ancient Thassilon.
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"Huh, boring. Boring. Boring." Annilda traces her finger across the tomes. "That writing will be useful, though." She looks back up. "If you want to know about ancient Thassilon, I can help."
She stands up as flexes her legs as the magic wears off. "That's all I can read for today. Let's take the glyph with us and look at those locked doors."
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Mae picks up the tablet of remove disease, eyeballs it then places it in Sunny's saddle bag. "I can use this is anyone is in need. Sometimes we all make bad decisions after too much Bufo..." She pulls out her jug and takes a swig. The face of a small, strange toad swirling around inside.
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"Oh, yeah, we're definitely taking these 'scissors-paper-rocks'. Do you think I'm nuts? No oath of poverty for this paladin. I checked, sister!" Uriel assures Lucina.
The aasimar pockets the two stone tablets bearing divine spells.
He looks around at everyone, then down at his bulging pants. "What? D'ya think I'm just happy to see you?"
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Annilda keeps her thoughts to herself. She's been enjoying Uriel like piece of eye candy all this time. "So then, let us retreat to that locked door with the Sihedron rune on it. Maybe the glyph we found will respond?"
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"That or you've actually got another halfling stuffed in there," Lucina snickers. "I mean, I've heard some tall folks like that sort of thing so I won't judgement. Judgement-free zone, right here!"
Still smirking, she then nods at Annilda. "Right, let's go see if the gylph works since it's just right down the hall. If it doesn't, that's at least another question answered and we can go poke around somewhere else."
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It is a quick trip back to where the Sihedron Rune denies access to whatever lays beyond it yet, try as she might, Lucina cannot make the strange rune fit either inside or outside the rune affixed to the door. After a few minutes you must admit that rune is not meant to go here...perhaps it is meant to go somewhere else?
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"Look at its size and shape. Have we seen a hole that fits this peg anywhere?" Uriel asks.
The aasimar checks his appearance in the reflection of a shining tile. I don't recall anything, but then that's why I'm the paladin-oracle. Saucy and suave, that's me. Maybe one of the smart ones remembers something.
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Mae happily shares her Bufo. "After a while you sometimes see pleasant lights and cloudy vision. It is a bit relaxing. Maybe later on." She flicks the side of the jug and you swear that toad twitches..
She eyes the exchange between the others "More strange Northern mating rituals? Most of our kind just share a pool every spring after a feast with lots of Bufo. It is quite messy but it gets the job done." She rubs her belly.
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"Darn...worth a shot I suppose," Lucina sighs. "And Mae, that sounds a lot like what we'd call an orgy - or maybe bacchanal would be a better fit since there's bufo involved. Lots of drinking and other things that may or may not lead to buns in ovens. Seems no matter where you go, some things are universal!"
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Moving onward here you travel down the corridor on the opposite side of the door that led to the library. A short distance brings you to opposite doors left and right of you. Following your standard procedure you check out the door to the right, quickly determining the door is not locked or trapped.
Opening it reveals a strange circular room, the smooth floor and ceiling have been polished to a glossy shine, and the curving walls appear to be made of a faintly silver reflective material as smooth and flawless as glass. The room otherwise appears to be empty, but the spell-casters are surprised to discover the entire room radiates an aura of overwhelming magic! Such auras are only found associated with artifacts-level items and places! Unfortunately the aura's type is impossible to determine.
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Status:
Annilda (14/14 hp, Mage Armor)
Damien (17/18 hp)
Lady Mae (15/15 hp)
Lucina (8/8 hp)
Uriel (17/19 hp)
Ruby (12/13 hp)
Sunny (16/16 hp)
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Current Effects: Uriel Light spell, Damien Light spell, Annilda *Virtue spell.
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Chime of Opening: 3 charges left.
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Lucina peeks into the room and then squints, shielding her eyes at the overwhelming aura contained within.
"Aieee! So bright!"
The little halfling backs away from the doorway just a bit, blinking furiously. "Whatever's in there...it's powerful! More powerful than anything I've ever seen! It's like...the entire room's one big artifact or something, it's so powerful!"
She shakes her head. "I can't even begin to tell what sort of aura it is specifically or what this room is supposed to be for. Maybe those books back in the library would tell us more if we had the time and means to actually read through them all..."
For lack of any better ideas, Lucina decides to try the pebble trick again, tossing one (or some other small piece of detritus) into the room to see what might happen.
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Mae holds her head as the colors flash, the magic is 'power overwhelming!' "Woah. I think I need to sit down for a minute. So bright." She waves Sunny over and leans up against her, taking a drink of water and wetting her eyes.
As Annilda prepares to head inside Mae stops her and offers guidance. "You are brave and silly at the same time. Be safe." Then Mae draws out her healing wand.. just in case.
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Annilda, displaying a measure of both bravery and foolhardiness, fearlessly enters the chamber and waits for something to happen. As she explores further she notes approaching within a foot of the walls causes the hair on her body to stand on end. Also she feels a tingling sensation in her arm just before she touches the wall. When she touches the walls she feels a deep, thrumming vibration beneath the cold, glassy surface.
As she stands next to the wall she (and the rest of you) hears an audible hum filling the entire room. At the same time, the curving walls seem to move, rotating faster and faster around the circumference of the room. A few seconds later, the hum dies down and the walls stop spinning, with no apparent aftereffects...