Darwyn's explorations and training are enough to give him faint hints of some other plane. Beyond this portal lies somewhere alien, but he has no means of knowing where it leads.
The half-orc, with his hands behind his back, stares at the middle portal intently as if it were a work of art at a gallery.
The portal radiates magic, but beyond that, Norrin is quite unable to identify anything useful.
'This one at least seems to lead to another plane. We had best be very careful, hopefully its two-way. In which case who wants to tie on a rope and go metaphysically spelunking?'
Good idea Darwyn
The ranger nods in agreement and prepares to tie some rope to Darwyn. He looks to Samson for a signal.
All the portals look the same. Simple arches filled with twirling mist. The portal Darwyn identifies as extra-planar has a slightly purple tinge to its mist. The central portal seems to be green and the top portal (i.e. your left as you look at it) is grey and moves more slowly.
Thus far there is no way of telling if the portals work in both directions.
"Hang on. Remember the other room with portals? The room where we befriended the ghost?"
"Just like the well, the obvious exits were misleading. So I think we should look carefully before deciding on a portal."
Norrin searches every corner and surface for clues.
While he learns nothing more about any of the visible portals, Norrin's hyper-acute senses to reveal the existance of a single additional portal on the opposite wall. He surmises it might be an exit.
Norrin makes a cursory check for hidden contraptions.
"It seems fine to me," he shrugs, and opens the door.
'Great work Norrin! When this place gives us options a, b or c. We should choose d!' Darwyn smiles.
'Then again,' his smile fades 'What if that's what they want us to do?'
He's silent for a minute before saying.
'Dammit, we don't have any information about them. I'll try figure out more, if it doesn't work I say we try the new portal first.'
Arcana:
Middle Door:
GreyMistDoor:
NewDoor:
'Then again,' his smile fades 'What if that's what they want us to do?'
"That's true. Just like that time in the feast hall, when they were counting on us to be suspicious of the food," thinks the ranger out loud.
Darwyn detects no new information about the mist-filled portals and Norrin finds that the exit portal he discovered opens only onto blank wall.
Darwyn sighs loudly and shrugs.
'Jumping through it is though! Anyone want to volunteer? You can pick your poison, or portal case.'
'Or! Or I could use hand of fate again.'
Darwyn sighs loudly and shrugs.
'Jumping through it is though! Anyone want to volunteer? You can pick your poison, or portal case.'
"Let's see if the portals are two-way first."
Norrin ties a length of rope to a piton and hammers it securely into the floor. He attaches another piton to the opposite end of the rope and tosses the loose piton into the green portal.
"Private Piton, I choose you!"
The ranger ties to pull the piton back out of the portal.
Norrin's experience of unwilling voluntary service comes in handy as Private Piton fails to return from his misson.
'Yes, I think it's time to get magical advice.'
Darwyn begins to set up the ritual to call the hand of fate.
'If anyone else has disgardable items, testing the other portals might lower the number of questions I need to ask. We only get three.'
The half-orc furrows his brow as he examines the shortened rope, no longer attached to a piton.
"And I thought the green one was the best bet..."
Although he expects a similar outcome with the other portals, he tests his hypothesis using the same procedure.
Norrin's rope gets shorter and his piton supply diminishes as none of his volunteers make the return journey. One thing at least seems certain. The arches offer a one way trip to wherever they go.
Which portal will bring us to a safe place in a survivable manner?
The hand points to the topmost portal.
'Which portal will bring us to our intended destination?'
'Which portal is the most dangerous?'
In answer to both questions, the spectral hand swings indecisively between the green and purple misted portals.
"Green. Everyone ready?"
'Grey is safe. Green and purple are dangerous, but forward. If anyone wants out this is the time. Otherwise I'm all for green with Lyan.'
With the unmistakeable tingle of arcane power blistering around them, the group step through the portal and find themselves in a ruined laboratory. Fungus hangs in sheets from the walls and another type of oily black fungus spreads over the floor, eating into the remains of equipment and overturned tables. Three large vats, the endmost also filled with black fungus and the two nearer liberally adorned with green mould of some kind, also draw the attention. The whole chamber stinks, but torches sit in walls sconces, lighting the area.
Disturbed from their rummaging, three small fey creatures look up and draw short swords.
'If its not one thing its another!'
Init:
The Blademaster's short swords swing twice, driving deep into Lyan and the creature looks eagerly at his foe.
Darwyn leaps into action, racing forward to face the fey.
Darwyn arrives at the edge of the fungus filled vat in time to see the zephyrs launch their attack.
Moving like the wind they are named for, the zephyrs converge on Lyan and drive their short swords home.
Akemi
For years they had been following the trail. Piecing together the sources of missing energy from the Feywild, they had uncovered a darker plot and one which was masterminded by someone determined not to be thwarted.
Now as the arcane bonds hold you fast and the portal opens beneath you, you know you are falling to another plane. Far from home and far from help, you can only hope that your prayers to Ioun are answered and that you will not be entirely alone in the fight you must continue.
As awareness returns, you think that the goddess may have heard your prayers. In a horribly desecrated laboratory, you take brief note of three vats, ruined worktables and experimental equipment. The stink of ancient fungus assaults your nostrils as you note that three quicklings are engaging in combat with a group of adventurers.
A huge hobgoblin stands beset, while a rapier wielding human moves to help him. At the door you can see a half-orc stringing his bow, a dragonborn opening his mouth to bellow words of encouragement and a graceful elf woman preparing to call down spirits of the wild.
Out of the corner of your eye, you also note that the contents of the vat nearest to you are moving.
Others
As Lyan stands beset, your attention is taken from the quicklings by the abrupt and unforeseen arrival of a graceful warrior maiden. Arcane power radiating evil and encircled by a blaze of divine light that seems to be fighting it opens in the ceiling and deposits her by the vat. Her hand is already on the hilt of her fullblade and her eyes turn swiftly to take in what she can of the chamber and its inhabitants.
"Radiance in this place? Any help we can get . . ."
Akemi takes in her surroundings and notes that the motley band of people are obviously not at home here.
She quickly decides to aid them in their fight.