[SFS/Shifty] #2:15 Infernal Gallery (A) (Inactive)

Game Master Nik B.

Sefel frowns slightly. If we can make haste in return, I suppose it could be for the best. But every moment they are trapped is a moment too many... What do others think?

The busts do not match the victims you can see on the screens

poke poke :)

Look... if we can quickly gather all of the soul crystal and return as quickly as possible, I can agree to that. Is there anything else here to do before we leave the Drift Bog? If not, let's motor out of here...

Barring any objections, Sefel will collect them and starting leading the team that direction.

Tsultro looks around....
" Isn't there more of this manor we should look though?"

Over to you guys to pick a direction :)

poke poke :)

Who's there? :P

Hellih listens to the conversation made between Sefel and Tsultro.

"I don't like this place. If you feel like smashing that stones are the right thing to do let's do this. But I don't trust what I hear or see here. Hell? Some parts of the Spike let you experience what hell is like." Even that he is an android in his voice you can hear pain, regret, and sadness. His face and lack of arm bear enough of the evidence to what he is saying.

If we go with taking the stones

Hellih leads forwards with the gun in his hands he slowly goes to the corner room.

Hellih can see that the next room appears to be a rather significant looking library.

Tsultro will nod as Hellih starts to walk forward, following behind with his pistol out and ready.

you push on.

Glass cases displaying crumbling books and scrolls fill this square room. A heavy iron chandelier holding fat, greasy candles hangs from the ceiling, casting flickering light. Archways in the north and east walls lead to other chambers, while a simple glass window in the south wall looks out onto the Drift Bog.

A window-lined alcove in the west wall surrounds a cylindrical gold cage that runs from the flooded floor up to the lofty ceiling. Within is a brightly colored bird with long, sparkling tail-feathers. The bird cocks its head curiously, then lets out an excited trill. “Oh, joyous day!” the bird tweets. “I thought I was done for, but you… YOU! Have you come to rescue me? Please! I long to see the hills of Elysium once more!” The bird pecks at the cage’s latch, clearly unable to lift it on its own. “Hurry!“

The glass cases are four feet high and hold their contents three and a half feet above the ground. The ceiling rises to a height of 20 feet.

The cage looks substantial - you will need some muscle to bend/break, or some engineering to pick the lock

Sefel frowns as his team moves on for now. He clutches the gems tight, intent on watching them closely for adverse changes.

A quick telepathic missive. Indeed these gems could be deceptive. We should be able to tell as soon as we are onboard the ship. Then we will decide on how soon to free them.

Sefel carefully eyes the books and spells as they pass by. He pauses for a moment to cast Mend on several of them to see if it has any effect in restoring their usable information. He is finishing up this little experiment as they enter the room and encounter the bird.

Ah! Fell behind on posting there.
Ceolor enjoys tossing the near weight less Tsu out and pulling him back. He reels the half-orc back in carefully, leaving him a good 5 feet off the floor. "Look guys, it's a life size balloon of Tsultro! Extremely realistic, I mean even the curses are the same!" After the moment of fun, Ceolor does bring him back to the ground.

In the other room, Ceolor gives pause at the decision to let the souls free. "I'm of the opinion setting them free would be better, but there may yet be a way to save the trapped souls without ruining the jewelry."

Ceolor pauses in the next room, mentally unsure of what the in hell he is looking at. Shelyn? There's no WAY a devil could have trapped a goddess, but that's what Shelyn's holy symbol looked like... right? He takes a moment to look at the cage a realizes there's little he can do on his own. But maybe helping is something he can do...

Aid another roll: 1d20 ⇒ 10
Not sure what the muscle would entail, but Ceolor is going to try aiding whoever tries if possible.

"Hey! Hi! Yes thats the way, do something with that lock - oh thank the gods that I have a rescuer with hands! Would have been a pickle if you only had hooves or something - I didn't catch your name Mr...? I'm Iffelby and I'd really like to leave if you could manage it" - The bird dances and hops hopefully.

Ceolor looks up at the bird. "You can call me Ceolor. No mister needed here. I'm sure you're probably significantly older than me anyways. So how did you get trapped in here, Iffelby? Did the Duke toss you in here?"

Without a word, Hellih walks closer to the cage and touches it with his rifle making sure that it is real.

Then he focuses on checking the other parts of the room before looking at the bird.

Hellih checks on books, wondering what kind of content he may find in a house like this. Written in a language that one can read? Horror books?

"Yes The Duke tossed me into this cage, another ornament for his amusement. He takes what he likes and does as he wishes... you've seen the hall next door. Sort of why I am eager to get out of here as soon as you let me out, and we can make good our escape before he adds you as his playthings too. So, Ceolor, think you could do something about this locked cage business - I'm pretty keen to be out of here."

Iffelby squawks nervously as Hellih waves a rifle near the cage, and Hellih is rewarded by a solid metal clunk as the barrel taps on what is a very solid cage.

The paper records in the glass cases are ancient and extremely fragile; even the preservation magic on the cases has decayed with time. The texts are fairly wide-ranging, as one would expect in a reading room of a fairly powerful Devil.

The ancient texts are very fragile, but Hellih believes they would photograph quite well - to collect the originals would be a very delicate job relying on a very soft touch.

Sleight of Hand check or relevant Profession check (such as librarian, scribe, or scholar)

Listening to the bird, Tsultro ponders its words.
1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 4 + (1) = 6

"Let me see if I can get the lock open."

Engineering check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Mental note....Buy all the +X toolkits after this....sigh

Profession (Wilderness Adventure Novelist)????!! ;^D Probably not but it had to make the joke that this profession might have a use in a written scenario!

Ceolor watches the bird for a moment. Sense motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Assuming he doesn't sense anything wrong with the situation, he looks at everyone else. "I wanna say let the bird free, everyone fine with that?"

He looks back at Iffelby "We work in groups and I can't act unilaterally."

Tsultro can't manage to jiggle the lock.

The bird stops jumping quite as excitedly, the wings dropping a touch with an almost palpable disappointment "Well, you tried" it offers encouragingly.

"If it is to be a vote Ceolor, then I certainly vote for setting the bird free!" it chirps.

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (4) - 2 = 2 Sounds about right.

Hellig sighs and approaches the cage,

"Let me try Tsultro."

Engineering, using custom rig: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Hellih approaches the cage and begins working with his custom-built tools. He wonders, what kind of hell is it if the freedom of one is secured by a lock that can be picked.

Hellih clicks the lock open and the bird dances excitedly "Thanks friends! Do you want me to follow you, or are you going to look around first or... how is this rescue going to work? Do you have a way off this rock?"

***

Wilderness Adventure Novelist will be great for your day job at the end!

So far the bird appears to be on the level, just super eager to get out of Hell.

Hellih clicks the lock open and the bird dances excitedly "Thanks friends! Do you want me to follow you, or are you going to look around first or... how is this rescue going to work? Do you have a way off this rock?"

Wilderness Adventure Novelist will be great for your day job at the end!

Thought so! Someday, someday.

Ceolor smiles, " You could stay with us, we'll try to make sure you stay safe. Or if you want stay here and you might be safe? I don't know enough about here to say which is better."

Unless you can see that an interrogator sometimes needs to have a very deft and careful hand....I only have sleight of hand...and not a very good one at that.

Tsultro looks over the bird one more time....."I am glad we were able to release you."

With that, he goes over to look at the manuscripts, wishing he had some knack of handling books like Royo has....

As the others work on books, Hellih turns towards the bird.

"So tell us birdy what is your name? And where have you met the duke? " asks the interested and worried android

No sleight of hands here.

Sleight of Hand check or relevant Profession check (such as librarian, scribe, or scholar)

Does the mending spell perhaps provide at least a bonus to this by reducing the fragility a bit?

Nevermind if nobody has it anyway. Sefel also does not.

The Lashunta, still ignoring the interaction with the bird gingerly opens some of the class cases to get pictures of the texts and scrolls with his datapad, leaving them where they lay for now. He angles it to get as much page surface area as he can, knowing that it's limited.

Idea: could I use flight again to levitate and move books carefully, or would that still require a check I can't make?

"So tell us birdy what is your name? And where have you met the duke? " asks the interested and worried android

"As I was just saying to your companion Mr Ceolor over there, I am Iffelby, and I am The Duke'spet. Not that I got a lot of say in the matter, but if it's all the same, I'd rather not be - I'd rather be out of this place to somewhere far nicer. Not stuck in a cage in Hell for the rest of eternity - I'm sure you'd agree Mr...?"

"Happy to wait here, or follow you, or wait at the door to accompany you when you leave - that looks hostile out there so I'm keen not to fly around alone".

***

Levitate might lift them, but it is more about the storage and handling - all good, you got a great collection of shots

Iffelby is a name?

"Tell me Iffelby, do you know anything about this painting? As you are Duke's pet you must have seen it." as Hellih shows an image of the painting showing the Vesk.

Completely ignoring the books for now ;)

"Looks like it came from the gallery, just through that arch" he flicks his beak towards the north doorway.

Seeing Sefel looking at the texts, Tsultro goes over.

"If you got as good as you could with digital, I can attempt to get them out carefully? It might destroy them however. But just looking at some of the spines of the books, and such, I am certain some of our mystical 'egg-heads' would like to have some of these...even if they might be destroyed."

With Sefel's permission, Tsultro will do his best to collect them carefully....."Ceolor, I will be borrowing the null-space chamber if you don't mind"

Tsultro, despite all his intimidating presence, reveals he has rather gentle hands and gathers the manuscripts perfectly.

Tsultro shows that some of the more...delicate....forms of torture require a steady hand, and a very gentle touch.

"Sefel, I got them...I hope that these were worth it. This place seems so wrong."

Think flaying a person and keeping him alive....yeah....there is a reason I have him at LN for a reason. He could easily work for some hellknights.

"Sefel, you think those spirits in the locket are trapped by a spell, right? What about those ghosts that Hellih and I saw in the windows? Could they also be spirits trapped in this place, like this poor celestial creature?"

Now that the player is not getting stressed out as much at work (well, essential worker and working from home), I went back and reread last week or so of posts...and since Sefel mentioned trapped spirits...and us finding that petitioner and all....Tsultro really thinks that those might also be trapped.

Hellih looks at the work that Tsultro has done and comments

"Very impressive Tsultro! A couple of gigs like that and people will say: gentle like an interrogator on his way through hell."

He listens to the idea about other souls being trapped and suggests:
"Maybe we should consider burning the house after we recover what we are after. Would that break the spell?" asks turning towards Sefel.

I'ts certainly not a nice house

Looking over at Hellih, Tsultro smiles crookedly, "I like that idea....I remember a song about 'burning down the house'....I think that sounds like a lovely idea. I left my flamethrower in my other pair of pants....do you have a spare?"

"Seriously....I think we need to find any other creatures that might be stuck in this house and free them. Those ghosts in the window...maybe even figure how to get the things out of the wall...this is definitely not a nice house. Ceolor, Sefel, didn't you say this came from a plane of hell?"

With that, Tsultro closes up the null-space and gives it back to Ceolor. "Keep all those items safe." He then proceeds to the north, where the bird suggested that the paintings might have came from.

When Tsulto steps up to try extracting the books, Sefel steps aside and presents the case to him. Be my guest. I have reasonable pictures of them where they laid before, in the worst case we're no worse off.

He's overjoyed when they're successfully retrieved.

--------

Sefel holds the gems in his hand while listening to Tsultro and Hellih proffer theories about how souls remain trapped here.

You... might be right. Perhaps this is easier than I thought. Let's check out the gallery so we can get out of here and try that.

Responding again Yes, this place seems linked to hell. Which means we need to be very wary of what we might find in there...

He follows Sultro North but his eyes keep darting back and forth looking for trouble.

A pair of filthy stone statues rise up out of the deep mud that fills this ruined art gallery. A soggy velvet bench sits forlornly between them, tangled with heaps of swamp plants, and five paintings hang askew on the walls. Jagged shards of wood, crumbling tiles, stone limbs, and the tattered remains of eviscerated paintings float in the Drift, which has overtaken the north end of the hall and the ceiling.

What would you like to examine...?

"I like that idea....I remember a song about 'burning down the house'....I think that sounds like a lovely idea. I left my flamethrower in my other pair of pants....do you have a spare?"

Hellih listens to the answer and reaches for the null-space and reaches out for an item.

With a grenade launcher in his hand he says:
"I think this could suffice, and if we have some time I can make a small bomb from those grenades. With some more time I could get some of the rust from the weapons, and with a bit of aluminum get us some Thermite that would help to set up a fire."

He puts the launcher back and throws

"Just an idea! Let us explore some more. This place gives me the creeps."

"I do not consent on going out in the drift again....", Tsultro says to Sefel before anything else happens.

With that he will go over to the statues to see if he can figure out what they are.

The statues are each cut from a single piece of heavy stone and stand six feet tall. One depicts an ysoki in a triumphant pose, and the other depicts a graceful elf looking very solemn.

Although both statues appear dirty, upon closer inspection it’s clear the statues weep a thick red substance from their eyes.

They'd fit in the chamber, but would require some Str related manhandling

Hellih follows Tsultro and looks at the statues. He takes a sample of the red substance
Medicine: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

"This is most definitely blood. I am almost certain that this is the blood of the Ysoki and Elf. "

Then he looks back at the statues

"Is it possible for them to be petrified?"

Could be, then again down here anything is possible...

Ceolor looks at the statues with a frown. "This is good material for my next book, but still... the fact that these could be still living is horrifying. Let's get them in the chamber, intact and not affect the manuscripts our delicate handed torturer put in there."

Strength Aid: 1d20 ⇒ 14

Sefel shudders, nodding at Ceolor's statement.

Living or another odd encasement of souls. Either way, more beings to free... Can we get these into the chamber? He looks at Tsultro.

Strength aid another: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Hellih shakes his head.

"Agreed. Let us take them from here."

We turn into some plundering party ;)

Hellih will help whoever tries to put the statues into the chamber, and then he walks to investigate the paintings on the walls

You get the statues in the chamber with a fair amount of effort.

***

Painting 1: A beautiful, androgynous human dancer adorned with sashes.

***

Painting 2: A portrait of a smiling, athletic shirren cradling a crystalline ball in their arms.

***

Painting 3: A serene pastel landscape of rolling meadows beneath a yellow sky.

Painting 4: An augmented holo-painting of skittermanders on parade.

***

Painting 5: A happy kasatha family sits around a table piled high with delicious looking food.

Sefel looks at the painting of rolling meadows and smiles. As he begins to look away his face snaps back to it.

Is that....? No, it can't be..

He then purposely averts his eyes from the painting.

Let's just get these in the null-space chamber too.

"There is something disturbing about the paintings. They are both beautiful and terrifying."

Culture: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

When he looks at the painting of shirren he says
"He was a sports star Elzozle, I saw poster of him in one of the storage rooms. I heard that he died a decade ago."

He looks a bit closer at the thing held by him in his hands and quickly turns away his sight.

"Yeah let's wrap them and take for investigation far away from here."

Then Hellih turns and takes a look at the bench. Is there anything interesting in it?

4d20 ⇒ (1, 1, 20, 8) = 30

Hellih finds nothing useful in or on the bench, the thing being degraded and damaged trough moisture and rot since being exposed to the swamp water drifting in from where the walls have been ripped away.

You pack the rest of the paintings in the chamber.

As you are about to leave Sefel spots a few items mostly buried in the mud.

Strength check: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10

Tsultro helps the rest move the statues into the null chamber.

"I have tortured things before....but I have yet to see a statue bleed before.....this place is a whole lot of new--though not good--experiences."

Looking at the painting of the skittermanders on parade, Tsultro chuckles...until he notices something. "Umm...anybody know what this bat faced beast is in this painting..the one you can barely see in the back...it seems to be chasing and devouring the skittermanders?"

Needs a life science....Tsultro doesn't have that.

"Yeah...lets see about the last of this place, then head out...destroy the windows and see if we can figure how to burn this place down. Then on the way back, collect some of the bog water, bugs, plants and such. The Eggheads probably will find that stuff fascinating, as this plane is still pretty stable in the Drift. I on the other hand want to get out of this hellhole."

Sefel squats low, picking at an allow cable and figurine he's found.

More treasure for the chamber. This place is chock full of interesting items. I wonder if it's scared away others before they could recover these things, or if Hell keeps producing curiosities into this decrepit house.

He looks over the painting that Tsultro is looking at.

life science: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27