"I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm COMING! What's this ruckus all about?!"
Rider1 : "Good lady, we are come from Veryston to bring dire news."
Then, as Tiadora is nearer to the gate,"My lady, there has been a prison break at Branderscar. Good men have been murdered and 5 condemned captives are missing! Have you seen or heard anything suspicious in the last two days?"
Crone : "A prison break?! Those fools. Pah, how do I know you're not the fugitives?! BEGONE from my master's grounds or I will call the hounds at once!"
Rider2 : "No such thing is called for, my lady. We are in service to the Greater Good of Sarenrae, our faith true and just. We are here to ensure your safety, as your master's mansion lies closest to the prison."
Crone, shaking head in disbelief : "closest, you say? Closest?! Do you halfwits honestly believe that even one of the escaped prisoners would be daft enough to risk the wild creatures of the swamp or the forest to come straight here, when they could've just stolen a horse from a random merchant and run halfway to Ghastenhall before the day's end? tsk, tsk, tsk. "
Rider1 : "We have orders to search all cellars, sheds and attics for possible hiding escapees. You will"
Crone : "I WILL Nothing! You cannot help us - you can't even help yourself. We're done talking." and she briskly turns away, leaving two dazzled riders outside the gate.
As the Crone passes to the back of the house, Tiadora changes her appearance back to her gorgeous self, this time draped in a simple yet disturbingly tight-fitting linen gown. As she peeks around the corner, watching the riders shake their heads and depart once more, she grumbles in a foul mood : "We should put up a sign, "Sarenrae knows what you did last night". That ought to keep those halfwits out."
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Time passes.
Three days, to be exact.
Once again, you are summoned by Tiadora to appear before Cardinal Thorn.
"Have you enjoyed your gifts? The iron circlets allow you to move amongst your enemies as one of them. The silver amulets will remind you of your true loyalties. And the other items – well, you need them now."
"You have done well to escape from Branderscar and to accept my offer. However, you are still not ready for my service. Tiadora will lead you to the basement of this domicile. There you will find nine chambers, each more dangerous than the last. Somewhere hidden within these chambers is a pendant of silver and sapphire. Recover the pendant and bring it to me. Let nothing and no one stand in your way."
He stands up and looks out of the manor house window across the grey moor.
"It is now almost dusk. You have until dusk tomorrow to bring me my prize. Do not fail me.
Cardinal Thorn takes a seat at his desk and a moment later Tiadora arrives, right on cue. "Dearest, this way." is all she says.
Tiadora leads you from the audience chamber down the central stairwell, to a set of stairs leading. "Below you will find the Nine Lessons."
A set of stone stairs leads down, through a hallway, ending at a door. The hallway beyond is lit by a smal oil lantern hanging from the wall. Inscribed upon the archway over the door, in the common tongue is: "Deception is a tool. Self-deception is death. Deceive always thy enemy but never thyself.
She leaves you standing there, without any further explanation.
Smiling at the irony, Talon draws his weapon and makes his way to the door, showing he's ready but waiting for the others
Rather continuing to banter with Tiadora, Cala bids herself excused to her studies. As planned she spends most of her time scribing spells into her new spell book before retiring to relax, speak with the other residents and find out what she can.
Sitting at a window seat in the Library, Cala observes Tiadora throw off the authorities from their search and mutters "Well then, at least that threat is abated for the time being."
When summoned by the Cardinal, Cala is now dressed appropriately for the task at hand
Perched on her shoulder is the raven they found on their trek to the mansion, its wing mending in a small sling.
Listening intently to the Cardinal, Cala appears stoic and emotionless as usual. If something bothers her about the Cardinal's request, it's difficult to tell. When finally brought before the door, she reads the moniker silently before turning to her companions "Out of the frying pan an into the fire. Are we ready?"
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map
Note this is a 10ft scale, a 30x30ft room.
You enter from the left. A weak oil lamp hangs from the ceiling, providing dim light.
Talon immedietly casts detect magic and begins scanning the room for anything
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Talon, you sense the faintest hint of illusion magic, but it's gone before you can pinpoint it.
The north wall conceals a small niche behind a piece of illusory wall. Inside that niche is a small pedestal, holding a jewel that glows with pale blue light. It is cold to the touch.
There is another inscription: "Thou hast seen through deception to uncover a useful tool."
Anyone with some skill in spellcraft can tell that this ‘jewel’ is a
cleverly crafted bit of sealed quartz. Inside the quartz is alchemist’s ice. If thrown, the jewel breaks on impact, and explodes exactly as alchemist’s firebut instead inflicting cold damage.
The south wall conceals a secret door.
"Ready or not, we must act," Sindran says. The half-orc is dressed plainly, in a simple shirt and trousers with boots. Upon finding out the use of the circlet, he had placed it upon his head where it now rests disguised as a large hat.
"The inscription on the archway was a hint, perhaps, or a deception in itself. At most it was cryptic advice."
Sindran holds out a finger in front of him and speaks. "Leidh-saga."
A flame appears at the tip of his finger though it doesn't seem to be doing the half-orc any harm.
He touches his own chest lightly with the finger, the flame sparking before winking out on contact. He does the same thing with Talon and repeats the same process on everyone.
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What happens to the contract, specifically the Bound if the Master dies? Are they still bound to the Pact?"[/ooc]
"Why, mister Cindering-Hate, to state the blatantly obvious; due to the second loyalty, you are explicitly prohibited to take action to cause such an unfortunate event. The other loyalties shall remain in effect."
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Your contract is based on one of Hell's most-used Standard-Contracts(*) intended for negotiating [Contractually] Bound(*) to perform Services(*) for a Fee(*). In your case, the largest Appendix(*) to the contract is reserved for rules regarding the distribution of operational Profits between yourselves instead of the default cause of action i.e. being contractually required to Deliver(*) any loot to your superior, as would be the Default(*) contract. This is obviously to your benefit, as you are now allowed to keep your loot!
Perc
After inspecting the room for a moment, Talon approaches the North wall and puts his hand directly through it, then withdraws now holding a pale blue gem "This might come in handy" Then afterwards he makes his way to the opposite wall, and after studying it for a moment traces his hand down the wall and finds a door, then waves the party over
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new map
The short passage leading to the south ends in a wooden door with another inscription: "Following the herd is for fools. Fear not their icy derision. Instead, fear only thy Infernal Lord.
Inside the stone chamber, there are four doors – each facing a cardinal direction. The entire chamber seems strangely cold. The ground is dirty and dusty. This room is also lit with a small oil lantern that hangs from the ceiling.
The eastern and southern doors are plain wooden doors. The western door is hidden from sight, covered in a strange pulsating violet mold.
As Talon reaches through the wall, Cala nods approvingly "Good eye Talon. It would appear this room lives up to its moniker. Deceptive."
After walking through the southern door, Cala reads the inscription and sighs. "I suppose everyone room is going to have bits of wisdom for us to endure."
Looking around the room, Cala quickly notes the traffic patterns. "It would appear those who went before us went east or south, but avoided the western door. I would guess that if we weren't to follow the herd as it were, we should consider the western door."
Perc
Talon is too busy examining the gem, but when Caladwhen points out what she saw he looks up "So it seems. Hmm, well it seems clear enough not to follow in the others, well, footsteps, but that mold doesn't exactly look health"
Inspecting the mold from a safe distance, Cala nods agreeably with Talon's observations "No indeed, it wouldn't be safe. Having said that, about the only thing that will clear a path for us is cold. Shrugging, Cala appears a touch annoyed "Of course, I don't think any of us is prepared with cold magic. I'm not sure exactly what we can do to remove it at this point."
"It seems odd that we would find an obstacle without a solution. Perhaps that gem Talon found might be of some use? Does anyone know what it can do?
When Caladwhen mentions cold being the key Talon smiles and shakes his head in amazement "Indeed, I believe this little gem shall be of help. If you'd all stand a bit back" Talon waits for the party to get some distance from the mold, then throws the gem at it
"I gathered," Sindran replies dryly. "The contract was very specific about that. What I am rather concerned with is that there doesn't seem to be any termination conditions in the contract. Do our obligations continue after your death, natural or otherwise?"
Sindran enters the room and gets blasted with cold. He grimaces, displeasure on his every feature. His plain clothes don't provide much warmth.
Reminds him of that time his master took him to the peak of a mountain in winter during one of the worst cold snaps his tribe had experienced, only covered in rags and then forced to hunt through snow and freezing water for something his master claims to have lost a few months ago. Good times.
He looks around and gets suspicious of the marks of travel and crouches to inspect them.
When Talon gives his warning, he stays well out of the way.
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Talon throws the blue quartz ball at the violet mold. As the ball shatters into a gazillion sharp black shards, it releases a thick white substance.
As it tries to feed by absorbing the thermal energy of the alchemist's ice, the instead shrinks and shrivels and eventually disappears.
You no longer see your breath frosting, and the room temperature slowly but steadily becomes somewhat more agreeable. There is now a thin grayish cake on the door, which doesn't seem to do anything.
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Earlier, in the audience chamber...
It is clear that the Cardinal neither wants to go deeper into the subject, nor explain elementary Infernal Law to you.
To be fair, your question is somewhat the equivalent of a distant cousin's neighbour's friend asking you "say, you're handy with computers, right? I have this problem with my internet explorer*"
Even Dessiter the contract devil has an amused look on its face. He peaks firmly: "Bound Eithe, would you like to consult the library, as soon as time permits?". You get the feeling this is not a question.**
* and then as you grudgingly make the effort to take a look, you find two conflicting virus scanners and a million toolbars and far too many adult references in the history you REALLY didn't want to know about.
** Dessiter's statement is the Infernal equivalent of 'RTFM'.
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As you open the door to the west, you find a corridor that leads straight south, where a torch shows that the corridor continues to the east.
When you follow the corridor, you reach a plain wood door leading into the third chamber.
This time, the inscription above the door says: "Know your enemy. Shatter all that blinds you, and then burn thy adversary to ashes."
The chamber beyond is completely dark. you can't see anything at all.
You see a globe of the purest black obsidian on a podium in the center of the room. The floor is covered with 1 inch holes at regular intervals.
Talon briefly explains the room to those who cannot see "I have a feeling that those holes will breathe fire at some point"
Aerent waits at Talon explains the room. "Well, can you break the globe? The riddle seems to indicate we should shatter something, and that seems like a good candidate. You should do it from here though."
"Thy adversary. I don't think we will be alone for long" Talon casts detect magic to scan the globe as well as the floor
Looking about the room, Caladwhen notes the globe in the center of the room, and describes it to those who can't see it. "I'm tempted to shed bring some light in this room, but that globe troubles me."
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Your suspicion is correct. The globe is emanating Darkness just like the spell.. Magical light would easily overcome the darkness, but you cannot help but think that the darkness was intentionally placed here for a very specific reason, such as keeping something subdued.
Perhaps now would be a good time to upload that map, Cala :) I assume everyone is still outside, and you and Talon are standing on the doorstep, looking in, discussing the magical qualities of the globe.
The holes in the floor are too tiny to investigate from a distance...Would you like to approach?
If it's relevant, all doors used to enter or exit a chamber open towards the outside of the chamber. i.e. the door leading into (3) can be opened by pulling it open into the hallway where you are standing now, and both doors leading out of (3) need to be pushed open. This was the same for both previous chambers.
Looking at the globe again, he motions to the party "Dont touch that quite yet, and be ready to fight soon" Talon gets closer to investigate the holes, but tries to keep from putting his face directly above them
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the holes are spread out evenly across the entire floor, starting at about a foot out of the edges of the room. Each hole is about 1 inch in diameter.
There seems to be some sort of open space beneath the holes, but the floor appears solid.
Judging from the way torches shine off the globe on the podium, the globe appears to be made of volcanic glass at first glance (i.e. quite solid, but when it breaks, it disintegrates into a couple million pieces); you'd expect it would require a serious blow to crack or break (mechanically, the globe has hardness ~ damage reduction).
Frowning, Talon turns to the party "Im not sure what the purpose of those holes are, but I think they might have something to do with fire. Well, what do you guys think?"
Arryn gazed into the room, deep in thought. Although she couldn't see anything, she was overly interested in the aura of the room. She takes one step after another towards the globe, enticed in the color. As she reaches it, she puts her hands out to pick it up.
Before Arryn can reach the globe Talon grabs her wrist with a firm hand "I said do not touch that. You can't even see, for all you know you're about to walk off a cliff" he pulls her away with an annoyed look
Arryn looks up as Talon grabs her. Her eyes widen, and she quickly composes herself, and tries to put it off as she smiles sheepishly and walks back. She turns around.
"Rogues never see in the dark..." She mutters as she pulls out her pen and journal, beginning her first page.
Hey do you have the date so I can have legit journal entries?
Turning to Talon, Caladwhen nods "You are correct in your assumption Talon. These holes connect to channels designed for movement of fluids or gas." Looking again to the inscription, Caladwhen continues "Given these puzzles have seemingly literal interpretations, fire very likely will emanate from the floor."
Drawing her gaze to the central sphere, Caladwhen grimaces and ponders "If I had to interpret the meaning, there is danger we cannot see. The moment we shatter the globe, we'll see the enemy."
After examining the room once more, Talon sighs and stands up to face the party "We have a couple options. One: We can try to shatter the item that holds the darkness and deal with whatever happens. Two: We can just go for a door and try to move on, for some reason I don't think that will be so easy. Three: ...well I always leave an option open, maybe one of you has thought of something else"
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The podium looks to be solid stone, but it looks easy enough to apply your weight to the top and topple it over.
Suddenly, Talon's feet feel as if they are on fire. After tearing open Talon's legs and feet, a red mist absorbs the spilled blood and grows significantly thicker. It also moves back into the floor through the holes with surprising speed.
Having difficulty moving, Cala again looks to the podium as Talon is attacked by the mist. "We need that orb knocked out! Aerent, smash it!"
Quickly observing to the ground beneath her, Cala instantly recognizes the mist for what it is being well versed in the necromantic art "This is vampiric mist; it will only continue to sap our strength and grow in strength as it does so!" Shooting an urgent but confident look to Sindran, Cala continues "Fire! Sindran, creatures of the night are vulnerable to fire... burn it!"
"Give me some light." Aerent responds.
Aerent moves forward drawing his trident, and thrusts it toward the globe of darkness.
Swearing in Auran as the mist attacks him, Talon quickly feels light headed at the blood loss. He quickly takes out a miniscule bottle of red liquid and applies it to the wound while saying "Heil theishta gierda draks"
Talon gets back to the wall where hopefully the mist will have more trouble reaching him
With a quick gesture, Cala quietly speaks an ancient elven incantation "Ehte`onta." Suddenly a familiar ball of blue energy appears in the palm of Cala's hand, and with a flick of her arm motion, Cala speeds the missile at the floor towards the mist.
Cala quietly and calmly speaks an ancient elven incantation "Iqua iva." and with a quick gesture, produces a small object from her belt pouch. With a light blow of air on her hand, a light source suddenly emanates from the palm or her hand.