Elo thinks on it for a minute. He also realizes he has 10 pieces of chalk too.
He starts experimenting with the chalk on his forehead to see if it will work but he suspects a more durable solution will take longer.
I suppose it depends how rough the "trail" may get. Will we have to find something off with arms interlocked? If so the ink to keep our hands free would be well worth it. I don't see a reason we can't take an extra day. Why don't we setup camp and I'll get to work on it?
Elo sends the others off to find a specific plant, and bring back some roots. It's fairly common, and easy to identify so it doesn't take too long to have a few armfulls of the stuff.
Meanwhile Elo lights a fire and gets hios equipment ready. It takes some time, some really bad smells and a surprising amount of cursing. but eventually Elo has a pot of ink with which he smears a crude third eye onto each of your foreheads.
"Should I enter the field first to discover if this works?" Bwessara says. "No more than thirty yards ahead, ready to turn around and run."
She pauses for a moment. "That doesn't sound heroic but I've often had to retreat when adventuring alone."
I think we can all try at once, but be careful at first. Each of us will have to test our third eyes anyway.
Q Succ
E Fail
B Crit Succ
V Succ
As you move North, a few hundred yards brings you to the edge of a plateu. From here you can clearly see a doorway set into the bottom of a 40ft high ridge. After a deep breath, you take a step forward, and something happens. The plateau in front of you stretches out to a nightmare scene fromt he abys. The grass shrivels and dies. The trees you can see shrink and their leaves fall and crumple to dust. The sky turns a deep red, and clouds rush in, lightning crackling between them. The smell of dead flesh assails you.
Bwes sees through the illusion immediately and is unaffected. Val and Qrik are held by fear Elo is terrified
Worry marks Bwessara's face when she sees her companions reactions. "These are illusions!" she calls out. "The ridge is still there. The door is still there. The grass hasn't died. It's not forsaken Val!"
The elf gets out her whip and dons her shield ready to protect her companions.
Qrik says, "Maybe...we should fall back and reconsider this."
"Great idea Qrik," Bwessara says. "Let's retreat until we can agree about reality. Okay Val?" The elf motions for the others to retreat first while she stands guard. We're each sure what we see is true. How do we perceive truth and not the illusion? It's been years since I studied philosophy.
Qrik falls back from the area.
As soon as you move back to where you started the illusion fades. The ground rights itself and the feeling of fear passes after a few minutes.
Qrik waits for his heart to stop racing and then says, "Yes...I think I can try again now too." He then steels himself to move forward again.
Ready when you are... Elo steels himself.
Q Succ
E Succ
B Crit
V fail
After a few minutes of reasoning, outside the effects of, well, whatever this is. The group tries again.
Bwes again is unaffected, Qurik and Elo both feel the fear the magic induces, and Val is deeply disturbed this time
Elo certainly scurries through quickly and anxiously, the mental assaults and near-pains fresh in his mind.
Qrik cringes and races acrosss!
Bwessara shakes her head after running through the magical area. "That was not easy. How does everyone feel?" She breathes slowly, scanning the area for danger.
Qrik throws up! "Bllarrgh!"
Once you leave the affected area you find yourselves at the bottom of a 40-foot tall ridge that stretches several hundred feet in either direction.
A little way along the wall a curtain of moss screens something laid into the wall. Further inspection proves to be a door. Although there is no obvious opening mechanism. Beside the stone door there is in laid into the stone, a grid, with markings.
Bwessara covers her nose and steps away from Qrik. "You should feel better at least Qrik. I normally do after vomiting. Usually from too much wine and delicacies."
The elf pats Val on the back. "Just keep reminding yourself we're past it."
Upon seeing the grid, Bwessara examines it closely, without touching it. "I see two squares and three rectangles. This part here," her finger swishes in the air above the rotated 'L', "is the left over from the small rectangle intersecting the bigger rectangle. I don't know if it means anything Hmmm."
Elo inspects the grid.
Well, very obviously a puzzle lock of some sort.
He scratches his chin and attempts to Detect Magic.
The grid has been carved into the wall, whether by Magic, or a good old hammer and chisel and pigment, is hard to tell. There's no residual magic that Elo can detect.
Poking around you nootice that the squares can be pushed in with a slight click. Another push releases them. There is some script written above the grid.
Elo squints at the mechanism and sees just a little bit more.
It looks like the squares can be pushed in, and then released. There's something written above here... can any of you read this?
"I'm not able to read it," Bwessara says with a grumbling undertone. [/b]"It couldn't be written in Draconic?"[/b]
The elf takes out her small journal. After copying the figure down she flips through her notes. "You know how I said I see two squares and three rectangles? What if they are the related to this bit about the Five Laws?"
She clears her throat and reads:
"The Five Laws
Only one Beast shall be placed in each Pen
No Beast wishes to see another Beast by looking directly North or directly East.
Two Beasts shall not be in pens that touch, lest they come to blows.
Actually after reading it aloud, maybe it doesn't have any thing to do with this. Are these the Pens or the Beasts?"
|
Not bad... I think you are onto something here. It could also be... hmmm, could it be the 'beast' is the action of pressing the segment? Placing the metaphorical beast in each?
He scratches at his beard scruff, left to grow in the last day or two... uncharacteristically so. He'd certainly been more silent than normal since crossing into this region, maybe the place had gotten to him.
Otherwise the beasts might be inserts, likely found as part of random jewellery or such carried by believers.
He thinks again.
The L shape gets confusing for me. I would push the bottom right small square first, the opposite large square next... then the bottom left, then the top right. The L piece? Hmmm.
He turns and says Give it a try?
Elo shrugs. I don't have a better idea just yet... He continues thinking while watching to see the result of Val's idea.
Only one Beast shall be placed in each Pen
Okay, check, you can only press or release a button. So I suppose "pressed" is "has a beast."
No Beast wishes to see another Beast by looking directly North or directly Easts
So we shouldn't press the tiles furthest North or East (top and right-hand sides, respectively, presumably).
Two Beasts shall not be in pens that touch, lest they come to blows
So that means we shouldn't press the corner of the L and that leaves two tiles in the middle of each side of the L? If your idea doesn't work Val, try that.
"That seems as good an idea as any, but if we are wrong I wonder if we will be summoning some beasts?" Qrik says.
How about this?
Elo's first attempt doesn't seem to result in any effect. It does occure to him that the text Bwes quoted was in the notebook under the heading "The Laws of the five beasts."
As Elo presses in the last stone of this combination a low rumble sounds. The dorr slowly grinds it's way to one side, and stands open.
Inside a dark tunnel disaperes off into the distance.
"Great thinking Elo. All that studying to be a wizard has really paid off!" Qrik says as he looks down into the darkness.