GMDQ's page

I asked folks over and over again that if for any reason they couldn't post IC to instead post OOC to check in, say if they needed more time, needed a break, or offer feedback. "I'm too busy" or "I don't know what to say" is no explanation when all you needed to do is post those exact words to indicate to me your needs within the 48 hour posting timeframe you actively agreed to during recruitment. As it stands, your actions--or inaction--show me your true engagement with the game far more than your words. Thank you for confirming I made the right decision.

I advise in your other games to please be more communicative of your needs and interests for your GM's sake.

Despite my frustrations, I do truly thank you for playing. I've learned a lot.

Closing the thread now.

Hi folks,

At the risk of this seeming sudden, I am ending this game effective immediately. I will be marking the campaign inactive 24 hours from now, so you are welcome until then to say farewell if you like. If you want to continue under another GM, let me know within those 24 hours, and I can leave the thread active for a time so the new GM can request it gets transferred to them.

Explanation: There's been no reply, in or out of character, save for one player, since I posted in the game thread a week ago. Regular posting has diminished as a rule. Players are either unable or unwilling to meet my clearly stated posting requirements of once every two days, IC or OOC. The high level of the campaign and my offering of (overly) complex setting options are moreover contributing to decision paralysis.

Once we moved into a sandbox, I made the mistake of not checking to be sure we were on the same page with what that meant: sandboxes require players to pick up the bucket and spade. I can't tell you what to do with them. This is doubly so for a high level game where the godlike PCs can literally go anywhere and do anything, so they are going to be the ones who must drive the momentum. I acknowledge my verbosity and attempts to create a multitude of options or potential avenues to explore has, potentially, made figuring out a forward direction difficult---even if my intent was simply to be sure you had enough to go on to identify a route that interested you. This said, I have repeatedly asked for feedback on how to improve things but received almost none. I was hoping the modularity of the quest I just offered (you get to decide how much effort you put into it) would be appealing, but this is obviously not the case. As such, I do not have the interest and energy levels to turn things around to re-energize things.

In short, there is no point in playing a game if you are not having fun. I am not having fun, and I can only infer from your radio silence that you are also not having fun (or are too busy to). I would rather free my time to either join more games as a player or run something else with more predetermined structure.

I appreciate, deeply, all of you for applying and, indeed, for getting through the initial planned adventure completely! That part *was* fun. And as such, this game as it was intended originally was a success. The rest was an experiment which failed, and the joy of such experiments is that we still get to learn from them.

Thank you for joining me. Good luck and happy gaming.

If there's anything that is unclear or we want to look at one thing one at a time, let me know.

This is intended to be something you could resolve in a half hour or a few weeks, depending on what you want to invest into it.

I feel like some transparency may help us sustain momentum, so:

The gist of this ritual (which those of you with more than 15 ranks in Spellcraft can easily glean) is it works basically like forcibly plane shifting someone away, but the ritual aspect--if it is performed successfully--will essentially raise the saving throw to resist and lower or even cancel the monster's spell resistance, to make it far more likely it will work.

Moreover, it will guarantee the monster will stay away; if you just tried to cast a spell to make it to go, it is powerful enough it might otherwise find its way back eventually.

If you attempt the ritual, but the ritual fails, the monster will nonetheless be weakened, making it easier to fight. (Those of you trained in Knowledge Religion, Arcana, or Planes know it's probably at least about CR 19 if not higher.)

You can also skip the ritual and just try to kill it, but of course then it will be full strength (but I wouldn't have you fight it if I didn't think you could handle it).

NOW: THE INGREDIENTS:
* A something of the Titans. You have already encountered a few options for this, object or living. Or if you want to go crazy you could try to travel to one of the moons and clip a Titan's sleeping toenail or something.
* Something representing vengeance/destruction. This can just be an object or artwork, or something holy to Berea, or something from a vengeful person or creature.
* Something representing sunlight.
* Something for binding/trapping/enchaining.

Anything that is "conceptual" can be submitted in the form of writing, e.g., a poem about the sun. Writing an appropriate item in an appropriate language may be a factor. Crafting an object is also an option.

There is no single "correct answer" for what fulfills the requirements for the "ingredients" Brother Abyss is seeking. You just need *something* that fits the description. It is *entirely* up to you to decide what each ingredient will be. In other words, this isn't a riddle or puzzle, it's a test of the party's creativity, ingenuity, and how much effort they are willing to put into something.

The trick is: the better/more powerful/more creative the "ingredient" you provide, the more likely the ritual will be successful (i.e., the higher the saving throw and the more it reduces its spell resistance).

I will make very clear that either through your own skills and spells, or through exploring the immediate area or perhaps speaking further or dealing with Brother Abyss, you can very quickly find materials or magic that fulfill the requirements of the ritual.

BUT, you can also consider traveling (across this prime or into other planes) to look for or get what you feel is a particularly suitable item.

In other words, this can be a very short adventure or a longer one. It is entirely up to you. I will assess the value of the ingredient based on the thought process and effort that goes into it. It doesn't have to necessarily take the PCs a long in-game time to get the thing if it's a clever idea (I'm not intending for you to have to go on four lengthy quests just to get these things). At the same time if you just throw some spells/potions at it immediately, it will work, but ritual may not be as powerful as it could be.

The Vengeance is not going to emerge tomorrow, but it will soonish (within a week or so). You can use the key Mira found to reinforce the gate to give yourselves more time if you really want to go exploring/questing.

He hands the box to whomever will take it, and then turns back to the shrine.

Lazur can tell the shrine is very old--the claim of it being pre-Cataclysm is believable, and of course the fact that you are in the Hrifgard makes this likely as well. He does not recognize the figure, necessarily, but the markings around it resemble various runes used to represent earth and stone in gnomish and dwarven traditions.

Examining it with detect magic reveals strong, mixing auras that seem to flow of various conjuration and necromancy magics, including layers of positive and negative energies sometimes working together, sometimes fighting with each other.

"To enact the ritual, I need four items. Objects, but objects that that hold power in their meaning, that relate to why the Vengeance was brought here, what draws it--but also what it is beholden to:

"The Titans' var on Tria drew it here. The conflict that caused the Cataclysm. So the first item needs to be something of the Titans. If it is something from living flesh... all the better, but you can't exactly find a living servant of the Titans these days... But something imbued with their power. A piece of these altars, even could vork, but... it would be better if it vere something else, since ve have also used these to serve the Vanderer's Eyes.

"Likewise, we need something representing what drove the conflict: A desire for vengeance. Control. Ambition. It could be a spell that alters emotion... or maybe a poem you wrote one day when you vere very angry. I have tried... I am a bad poet. Now, these two things are what draw the Vengeance to us. Then, two things that can control and weaken the Vengeance:

"As a creature born of pure Void, the power of the Sun is its nemesis. I don't even know vhat the sun looks like, so I've struggled vith that one. But there are spells that duergar have tortured people with that are supposed to be bright as day, or there is the god Leokh... a holy symbol, perhaps? Or sunlight caught in a mirror box? Is that possible? And finally...

"An object representing binding. Chains, the obvious option. An entrapping spell. A rope. Ve could get fancier... kytons dwell on the Shadow plane... cut off a piece of them and use that chain, it vould be most powerful."

He spreads his hands: "Again: something of the Titans, something representing destructive vengeance or power lust, something representing the sun, and something for binding. Bring them here, we put them in the altar bowls, and I consecrate them for the ritual. Now: you could, between magics and looking around here, find something that suits. Probably in a very short period of time. But: the stronger the pull of the item, the better the ritual will go. So if you have ideas of what would fit... you can travel more freely than I can. For example, I would not like to test if Tria will strike me dead if I leave belowground, as many often believe. I think the door vill hold...

He points upward and then at Mira. "Ah! The key. My brother hid it. I can't find it here. Maybe he put it in the cherufes' chamber up the stairs. But I can't find it. It looks like a key made of the void itself. Quite difficult not to recognize. If we don't find the key, the door will break and the Vengeance come through I vould say... in a fiveday or so. If ve do find it, we can restrengthen the door and that vould give more time if you need it."

I'll wait for you before the info dump then.

I am going to assume for now Ariston is also still here.

The duergar leads the party back toward the staircase area. "So, a bit of a tour." He points at the three corridors you did not explore earlier, that are, for lack of a better way of describing it, to the north, east, and south.

"My brothers took over and reinforced this temple generations ago, but it vas built by gnomes before the cataclysm. A temple to the Titans. In each direction there is an old shrine. North was to the titan of Earth. East to Air. South to Fire. Far vest, there was a shrine to Vater, but it was destroyed. In its absence, the scar created by its destruction is where the rift to the Shadow Plane grew. It was my ancestors who built the doorway to seal the rift, but as I mentioned, I have lost the key. That remains a problem if ve vant to open it on purpose--or strengthen the seal--but otherwise we could just wait a veek or so until the seal breaks. If you want to help me find the key, that could be step one."

"Othervise..." He gestures for you to follow him northwards. He shows you one of the shrines: a large stone edifice, carved entirely out of the cavern wall. The bottom forms a large bowl clearly intended for offerings. Holding the bowl is a statue of a baleful looking creature growing out of the wall, with a giant scowling head hovering over the bowl about five feet over your heads. The statue is cracked in places and missing an ear, and ancient damage suggests someone long, long ago attempted to defile or destroy the whole thing (with only minimal success).

"The divine conduits these served as went dead when the Titans vere drained of their power and exiled to the moons. But there is nonetheless much residual power. Ve tapped into that power vhen ve raised the Ravener in the chamber on the surface. That means particularly, negative energy flows through these. For our current purposes, that is not a bad thing, as it helps also establish a connection with Shadow. Since the Ravener destroyed my Brethren, I was already trying to come up vith an alternative in case he failed us. And, he did. I began treating these shrines with consecration spells, trying to balance the dark forces to shift their creative energies toward something I could use that was not destructive... but binding.

"So: there is magic that could send a creature to another plane. That exists readily enough. But the Vengeance is so strong it is likely to just shrug it off... or even just come back from where it was sent. So..."

"I have come up with a ritual that will weaken the Vengeance's resistance to such magic. We need someone able to cast plane shift.. And we need various items to infuse using the shrines..."

He pauses, as though distracted. "Oh! Items! You did come here for treasure, yes? I forgot. I have something for you. It is not a dragon's hoard. But seee... I have not forgotten what you seek. A show of... good faith. A thank you, for hearing me out..." He produces from his robes a shellacked darkwood box about one foot by six inches by six inches. He opens the lid. Inside is an exquisite device made of gold, platinum, and semiprecious stones polished into spheres. It looks like an orrery, but it does not depict Scrithengard's planetary sphere and its moons and sun. It instead shows a quartet of four spheres set within a disc, forming a core around which at least a dozen or more other spheres rotates along different discs and rings. "It depicts the Great Wheel, one way sages have tried to understand the the Great Beyond. At its base, you see these rings of different inlay... these are the Inner Planes." He points to the base, which indeed contains white and black rings of the energy planes and four colors representing the elements, blue, yellow, green, and red.

He holds the box out to you. "It vas made by Khyber Mercane, the Vorldseeker. He came here a centure or two ago. He made the Machine I believe you are familiar with. My understanding vas that he vas a complete ass. But he made a pretty thing, yes?"

"Now, vhere vas I?"

Please post in the game thread your good mornings and any questions to Brother Abyss and then he'll give you the "quest tour."

If you need to continue your conversation please back-tag as needed

You rest for as long as you need to, though it's hard to know what time of day it is. Liber, whether due to residual animal instinct or an inevitable's clockwork-like sense of time, believes it is early dawn.

As you are readying to leave, there is a knock on the invisible door to your magical sanctum. Beyond stands Brother Abyss--not invisible--still black-cloaked with just his pale eyes showing beneath his hood.

"Goodness me! That vas a good trick," he chuckles. "For a minute I thought you'd left. Of course, I vas thinking it would be funny if I locked the door once you vent inside... of course, I vould never trap you on purpose, I am vell aware you could likely turn to me ash vith but a thought. So here, the joke is on me." He chuckles again, apparently very (and genuinely amused) by his train of thought. His manner seems far more relaxed than it was previously.

"Come, come, ve have vork to do!" He gestures for you to follow, and heads toward the central corridor back toward the staircase where you arrived.

Busy day yesterday and today but I will post tomorrow. Krowys, just update your spells when you can.

No rush and no worries, just wanted to be sure I hadn't lost you. :)

Lazur, Krowys, we good for moving on?

Also when I note "prepare" that also includes any side conversations you all want to have with each other, questions, setting up a watch during rest, etc. (And I know Mira may just summon her magnificent mansion for more spacious accommodation, etc.)

I am back. Prep yourselves and let me know when you are ready to move on.

"Very well. Perhaps I should do the same. I shall see you at sporetide. I will meet you here."

He waves a hand, and casts a standard nourishment spell. A large chitin filled with fresh water and smaller chitin bowls filled with what appears to be a variety of roasted mushrooms, lichens, and insect thoraxes appear. All very edible. Whether it is to your taste is another matter.

He casts invisibility again and his footsteps recede into the corridor.

Brother Abyss gestures to Krowys. "Being unable to map and being able to navigate are two different things. But I am not certain I can find a way to explain it to one bound to Axis. Suffice, I hope, to say that finding him will not be a challenge. He leaves a... trace that is easy to follow."

"As for the plan, we need to as always bind the creature and then gate it. The latter, a spell of plane shifting would suit. The hard part is binding something so powerful. You could try simple spells. But I was developing a ritual that would raise the chances of success. If you want more than that, it would be easier if I show you..."

He gestures back toward to the room he opened. "Unless you wish to rest first..."

Another heads up that the WiFi here is not working well which makes it harder for me to post meaningfully as a GM. I will reply when I can and I appreciate your patience in the meantime.

Mira, you can basically just read the entry on the Shadow Plane in Planar Adventures

The footsteps halt at Mira's apology. At this point, you can all see a cloaked figure, a shadow standing amid shadows, as the invisibility protecting him begins wearing off, peeling off like a translucent skin. You can see opalescent eyes assess you beneath a black hood. It is almost impossible to see his face otherwise, and he may have part of it painted black.

At Ariston's comment. "Vell, I don't know, now. I'd like to see that. No. What seemed easiest was find something strong enough to kill it and try to kill it. But you see how that vent." He sighs. One foot remains pointed into the direction of the corridor.

He gestures toward Mira. "Sealing is the easiest thing. Ve could just fix the Door to the Shadow Plane. The problem is that it will remain on the other side, and draw the disasters here. Vhich are being collected by that Machine, to all descend on the land at once once it breaks again. Vhich just delays the threat of this whole thing, which seems irresponsible. My own God, capricious though he may be, does not vant to lose the vorld. It's vhere he keeps his stuff.... Anyway, the other problem is my Brother hid the key to the Door, and I haven't found it."

He spreads his hands. "There's another, maybe better option." He sighs. "I have been trying to piece together a ritual that could send it into the planes. The problem is it involves going into the Shadow Plane, binding it before it can attack, and then opening a new portal to exile him. It will be drawn toward greater forces of Apocalypse than would be here. If it worked, he would be shunted to a place that is doomed anyway and he is no longer our problem. If it didn't work, he would try to obliterate all present. And I know if I tried it myself, I would die in vain."

A heads up that starting Sunday I will be at a conference for a week and may be slow to post.

Ariston: From what he can see of him, and based on the architectural features of the temple, Brother Abyss is very likely a Chosen of Lees, or at least a devoute worshipper. He is invisible, and wears a simple black cloak that coneals much of his body. There's nothing particularly unusual about him that you can see, other than the fact that he's a Hrifgarder, which you've barely ever seen.

He grows silent as Lazur talks. There is a long pause. "I doubt the Mother cares much for me..." he trails off, and then Mira delivers her retort.

To her he replies, "Forgive me, my lady, but I think you misunderstand. About a hundred years ago, the living dragon Thrakterifax, with whom ve had no relationship, fought the bronze dragons. They all killed each other. Ve had absolutely nothing to do with that! Once Thrakterifax got himself killed, we merely used his convenient corpse in hopes it could aid us in stopping a far greater threat. If the volcano had not erupted due to the failure of a machine ve did not create, the Ravener vould not have run off, either, and vould have fulfilled his purpose. Ve are responsible for initiating the process that created the Ravener. I understand ire about that. BUT, ve are not responsible for the dragon's death nor the forces that caused the Ravener's escape. As it is, I repeat, the Ravener killed above all else, my brethren and his own vorshippers. I am all that is left. Are not the scales of justice balanced?"

Sense Motive: His voice has grown more confident as he speaks--but also is now tinged with indignance. It is clear he is willing to be held responsible for his choices, but not others' (even if he is, from a rational standpoint, splitting hairs). His voice betrays a good deal of grief at the loss of his people. He does not fear you as much--and so is sharing information freely, without guile--but is also growing suspicious of you. I'm counting the Diplomacy attitude to having shifted upward, but I still have to also bear in mind the roleplaying and what is said. He is more cooperative in giving information and has chosen not to deceive you, but he doesn't like being blamed for things out of his control and might be petty enough to abandon his efforts out of pride.

Another sigh. His voice projects more toward Liber and Krowys. "I absolutely do not blame you for killing the Ravener. It had gone rogue. It vas necessary. But I sense the sentients it chased out of the mountain have returned safely since to their homes. For if you vould hold me responsible for more than that... I prefer not to vork with those who vould hold grudges. More grudges. More vengeance. I vill not contribute to the feelings that create more Cataclysms. I shall seek other options. Or, I suppose ve could just let the gate break. You would have a few days or weeks or months before the Vengeance escapes to enjoy your treasure, if you can find it..."

He moves, footsteps once again echoing, then stops as Ariston says his reply to Mira. "Vhat? Challenge the creature? Vell, I suppose if you vant to go that far. I was just going to suggest... vell, never mind. You are very powerful and clever people. You shall figure it out. You need a place to rest? Here."

A stone on the wall behind him--a constructed part that seems to grow out of the more natural cavern wall--shrinks inward, and stones grind as a section of the wall slides aside, revealing a small chamber within. Stone bunkbeds (four beds total) are carved out of the wall, topped with a soft hide whose origins you cannot discern. In the center of the room, a table, also carved straight from the stone, has a bowl sitting atop it. Two metal chests sit at the end of each bunk.

"My brethren no longer need their cells. Make yourselves at home."

He walks away, his footsteps receding toward the corridor you came from. Ariston sees him move, first toward a rusty minecart. He then seems to think better of it, and begins to walk back toward the corridor you chased him down earlier. You can certainly call him back or go after him. Or not, as you wish.

Lazur: Footsteps are coming from him. There is absolutely zero sign or signal of any other life in the area.

Ariston: He's a duergar in a black cloak. Is the Knowledge check re: Brother Abyss or to do with the Vengeance?

Brother Abyss sputters, a mix of fear and indignation. "The damage the Ravener has done? Vhat are you talking about? Vhat damage, to you or anything you care about? It killed my brethren, not yours--a price no doubt for our hubris. But you ended it before it could do much more than snack upon a few trolls in addition to those who dvelled here... Could it have damaged others on the island had it survived? No doubt. But are surface dvellers so petty you vould seek revenge for vhat might have been?" Footsteps echo near a cave wall, then stop.

"And who do you vork for? You said you vere hunting treasure." Suspicion creeps into his voice.

Going to pause longer before posting further. If everyone can either respond or say you have nothing to add within the next couple days I'd appreciate it. Want to be sure all are on the same page before going further.

A sigh echoes through the empty cavern. "Not a veapon, as such. A creature." He pauses. "This is the kind of thing the Goddess of Oblivion would love to harness to her purposes. Lees learned of it first. If the Varanite weren't so blindingly aligned to the celestial planes I would hesitate to share any of this at all... but I cannot handle this alone and I am all that is left...

"But I get ahead of myself. The creature. The people who created it, summoned it... called it 'Tzitzimitl.' A mouthful, so I just call it the 'Vengeance.' It is a creature of darkness. It is apocalypse made shadowy flesh. Drawn here in the Titans' death throes to finish the vork the Cataclysm started."

"But those who called it brought it were stopped, and it was trapped in the world's Shadowlands, the plane of Shadows that dances alongside the Prime. But so powerful is it, its destructive power still bleeds to this side of existence.

"My brethren learned of it and built the Chasm Temple here to study it. At first we sought to seal it. My father met with the wizard who dwelled on the island, Mercane, to find ways to stop it. They never found something that would work permanently--or at least not with a cost they were willing to pay. Mercane left to find his own solution to stop the disasters striking the island. I understand he built an engine they hide in the city to the south. But it stores the energy of the disasters that are supposed to strike it. When it fails, all the disasters it prevented begin to happen at once. The more disasters it prevents, the more dangerous it is when it stops working. The volcano erupted. Meaning the machine failed. Then it stopped. Meaning it must have been fixed. But that created several more problems..."

Footsteps echo through the cavern. Ariston, via true seeing, can see a cloaked figure moving toward another column. He carries no weapons.

"You see, the servants of this temple decided instead to find a way to kill the Vengeance. But none themselves were anywhere near powerful enough. But... fortune prevailed, so my brethren thought. A great dragon, Thrakterifax, had long made his home in the volcano above. But he had provoked a great family of bronzes from the coast to the west. Three came to hunt him down. A great battle, and he killed all three, but succumbed to his wounds and died."

"We worked with the cherufes, who worshipped Thrakterifax as a god. Their worship, you see, could help fuel what our high priest set out to do. We disobeyed our Mother's decree against undead to protect Her." He sighs, another echoing murmur through the cavern. "In short, we created the Ravener. It was our plan to open the gateway to the Shadow Plane and use him to kill the Vengeance."

He pauses before continuing. "He devoured most of the souls of our brethren in his creation and of half his worshippers. But he agreed to take on the Vengeance. But then the volcano erupted. And he escaped, chasing all of life down the mountain to devour them all.

"I scried upon him, and saw him brought down. A mercy, I expect. But now we have nothing to destroy the Vengeance. Making matters worse, the quakes have done damage. The gateway to the Shadow Plane is cracked. The Vengeance will escape, even if no further disasters do any further damage. But if you have the power to destroy the Ravener..."

"Forgive me if I start vith vhat you likely know already: the volcano began to erupt a few nights ago. Corrupt magics of Axis... no offense intended to the aphorite or the arbiter... that had stopped it from erupting had unraveled at last. Then something revove the magics at the last moment. A boon to all who live here, I am certain. But... that containment magic, though powerful, has always been a small cork in a large vial of caustic forces. A light bandage over a vound that is rotting.

"The island on the surface had been since the Cataclysm a lodestone for disaster. If not the volcano, storms coming. Heatwaves and frosts. Droughts and floods. It is as though the Cataclysm's forces were never fully quelled, yes?

"Why do you think that is? Could it be a seed of the Cataclysm itself is planted beneath the island?"

A dancing light appears over the minecart tracks that drop deeper into the chasm, leading away into the beyond.

"Mother Tria buried our ancestors in the Hrifgard who did the vorst of the Titans' bidding--even if our ancestors felt they had little choice. Though ve are not as cursed as the people above would say... Anyway. Still here vere svirfneblin before us, who built the original structure here. The tracks and vhatnot. Before ve built the temple...

"Here the deep gnomes plotted revenge against creation itself. And they hid the instrument of destruction in the Shadowlands. So powerful it was... it has echoed nonetheless in the real vorld. Ve debate... does the Vengeance draw the destructive forces to this place? Or does our Mother, infinite in her compassion for her children, seek to drown this island and the secrets vithin it?"

He stops suddenly. "Phew. That is a lot of storytelling. Any questions so far?"

Generally if you want to attempt a Sense Motive check--or any other check--just roll it. I tend not to do premptive checks as there's just too much else to track. Based on your raw bonus, what you hear in his voice above all other things is fear, even if he is trying to speak with authority. Now a fearful person may lie to you, but you don't perceive he's trying to signal anyone.

None of you with normal senses see or hear anyone or anything beyond the voice speaking.

No bats. No insects. No critters of any kind. Absolutely nothing. Notwithstanding illusions, there's not many places to hide, unless something is waiting in the chasm beyond.

You hear a chuckle at the request to "come into the light." "Ah. No, I won't. That is against my religion." A pause. "So you are treasure hunters. It is as simple as that, yes? I know many secrets. How to access the demiplane where Thrakterifax kept his hoard is one... As it is, I have a problem. One that you, inadvertently, have... complicated. Help me, and I will not only show you how to access the hoard... I vill also give you something else of great value..."

Another pause. "I do not... lie to you. Let me be clear. You slew the ravener. I have no doubt you could send me to Tria's vomb faster than I could blink if you vish. But if you are as... friendly... as you present yourself to be, I think not just ve, but all of Scrithengard, vould be better off vorking together..."

Diplomacy takes 1 minute to shift attitude, so you'll need to keep him talking.

The voice from the darkness echoes, bouncing off the cavern walls and receding into the chasm beyond. "Call me Brother Abyss. You are the ones who ended the Ravener, are you not? Forgive me, if I... remain leery. Ones vith power like yours can do harm with a careless sigh."

The group follows to the north, and not long after turning, the carefully carved and brick-reinforced walls give way to rougher cave walls... And then no walls at all, as the cave opens up, and remaining floor becomes a clifftop over an unfathomably deep chasm. Crumbling pillars of older and different make dot the area. To your right (southward), you see what appear to be something like old minecart tracks that dissapear beyond the limits of your darkvision.

You hear a voice come out of the darkness in heavily accented common.

"Hells' belly, f~!*ing adventurers! Vhat do you vant already!? I should varn you, I am prepared to defend myself..."

No, autocorrect, not "Minecraft tracks.

If you go to the Battlemap, I've put up a map of where you are, hoping this may help you visualize what's going on. I'll try to draw a better version later (this is just something that worked for what I was envisioning that I found online). Please do not look at or move the blue squares.

I don't anticipate notable combat but I thought perhaps something that helps you see where you are may be useful.

Heheh.

The duergar that Mira spotted moved down the south passage and is now out of anyone's line of sight. Lazur, however, hears movement to the north, not the south.

Ariston, moving at walking speed, was coming up behind the rest of the group and did not see anything himself.

Ariston was moving slowly enough that, combined with his knowledge of religious things, he recognizes markers that they are in a structure dedicated to Lees, the god of shadows, cunning, and secrets.

Whoops sorry, I meant to say "the party," not Mira specifically (it's just that she's the only one who can really see him doing it). He looks toward the whole party in the alarm, but looks right past Mira specifically.

Arbiters have wings so they fly more than float--wings flapping could make noise, especially over a metal body--but I doubt they are terribly noisy.

Unrelated to the footsteps, as you go further up the hallway, you see occasional openings in the hallway--branching, smaller corriors--to the north or south. Many of them seem to go into darkness--which is to say, that even with darkvision what is through the openings. It's hard to tell if it's magical darkness beyond, or just a yawning chasm.

You all follow sort of nonchalantly after the footsteps, which are just ahead of the range of your darkvision. You hear the footsteps slow, and then resume. Mira, moving slightly faster than everyone else, can see the end of the corridor come into view first before the others, and she sees a duergar--bald, grayish dwarf in a black robe--appear out of nowhere not far ahead of her. He looks at her in alarm and heads southward along a t intersection.

Lazur coming in behind, once he gets a little closer to the end of the hallway, where it comes to a t, notices with his echolocation, that footsteps continue to the north, not south. He is also not sensing the presence of nearly any other moving or living creature, as best he can tell.

By the time Ariston catches up the duergar has gotten back ahead probably 40 or so feet. (Though if any of you follow in one direction or another first that is fine, but I'm assuming you're trying to stick somewhat together unless you say otherwise. )

If you want a map I can provide one; I don't know if it's necessary but if it helps you visualize I can do that.

Sorry, Mira: please remind me what speed you are moving at. I know at one point you had a move speed of about 120 but I'm not sure if that was from an additional spell or not. Trying to calculate who can catch up first, etc.

Lazur thinks the construction of the tunnel is most likely of duergar construction, and the speed at which the footsteps are traveling probably matches a dwarf or duergar's steps.

Very few people have interacted with the cursed denizens of the Underdark. They are believed to be cursed by Tria to be unable to bear the light of the sun, descendants of humanoids who refused to forsake worship of the Titans even as they aided in the Cataclysm. The duergar once served the Titans of Fire and Earth. You've spoken with Zweidoran dwarves who say they have encountered duergar and agree that some are oddly quixotic and passionate, while others extremely rigid and duty-bound. Either way, they are known for enslaving other underground dwellers to carry out vast building projects, and very likely this place may not have been an exception.

Everyone notices a pattern carved into the wall, of what looks like a diamond with two ovals set in the center of the diamond, side by side. As you move down the corridor, each time the pattern repeats, one of the ovals grows smaller and smaller until it disappears, and then it reverses, with the oval growing larger till the ovals are of equal size. The faster you move, the more it looks like the ovals are a pair of eyes, repeatedly winking at you.

Ariston realizes they are looking at iconography one might associate with Lees, the god of shadows, secrets, and trickery.

The footsteps steadily move as fast as they can; the subject is running.

Could I get some details about your pursuit? I.e., are you walking, running, flying at full speed, etc.? Sneaking (invisibility aside) or being obvious?

You generally sense or can see if you activate detect magic that the conjuration auras are a bit stronger here. Something about this place seems to make such magic a little more powerful. This right now is generally good, though those of you trained in Spellcraft can imagine something like a powerful teleport spell getting a "boost" resulting in something unexpected.

Liber as an outsider (albeit transformed from a native creature) feels a strange tingling sensation.

Mira cannot see anything, at least within the limits of her darkvision (and it is otherwise completely dark here). The echoes of the caverns make it hard to pinpoint, but the more the rest of you focus you can all agree it is footsteps receding swiftly down the west passage.

Right now, this is only good: +1 to caster level for those spells you cast.

The handy haversack you may find things jumping to your hand even more quickly than usual. Bag of holding can hold about 5 more lbs of stuff.

I've got a busy day today (I should be running out the door in two minutes) but if I don't update today, I will tomorrow.

You head down the staircase, and it goes down... down... down... probably at least 10 stories. There is no lighting, although your darkvision can make out continued, elaborate decorative etching in the stairsteps. The air gets stiflingly hot and then suddenly, cooler once again. (Life bubble protects you from any effects

You come out into a circular chamber about 60 by 60 feet. Unlike the one far upstairs, this room is constructed or carved out, with very smooth but decorated walls with some brick retaining sections that also serve as decorations. There are openings into dark corridors to to what we will call north, east, south, and west, though down here the cardinal directions are clearly meaningless.

All magic is functional here, but ... (do any of you have any magic items made using conjuration magic?)

All of you hear movement down the westward corridor. Ariston is fairly certain it was the footsteps of a bipedal individual.

Mira comes over and has a look at the runes.So, they make the disc move in some way, is that what we think? Might it give us access to some alternate area? Any idea if trying to go down this opening will set off some sort of trap?

I am a little confused about the reference to moving a stone disc. I though the runes were around the lip of the hole going down to a chamber below?

There is a drawing of the stone circle on the battle map page. The area beneath the grate is a recessed stone disc, with a groove separating an outer ring from an inner one. In the center is a hole, but it was only about six inches wide. Until...

Lazur touches the runes in sequential order as Liber counts down.

At the last one touched, the room vibrates as stone and metal unseen grind together. The outer ring of the circle indeed begins to turn, causing the inner part of the circle being to part along barely perceptible cracks in the stone, some of which push downward. What looked like a simple drain hole for the grating gets pulled wider, stone lowers, and...

You are now looking at a circular stairway leading down... so far down, you cannot see where it leads.

It occurs to you that as you are already under the mountain, if you go much deeper, you may end up in the underdark realm known as Hrifgard. All things are unpredictable in the Hrifgard, including, sometimes, magic.

Ack, day got away from me. Will post tomorrow.

So sorry you've been sick! Hope you are feeling better.

Will update tomorrow.

Krowys puzzles over the runes, with Lazur providing insights on origin and Ariston on possible ritual purpose or use of similar colors and shapes in prayer. Liber frets over her master, perhaps understandably, but working together you are able to determine that it is both language and code. The runes must be, partially, based on Svirgol, the language of the Svirfneblin and the most common language spoken in the Hrifgard. But the colors and shapes also themselves form an additional mathematical pattern--the color for example is the color of the elements, and it takes awhile but you realize each has a value, such as air=1, water=2, etc.. The values of each color, shape, and rune in turn add together to create a final "value" of the rune.

The result is almost so simple it's ridiculous--once you figure out what each piece, shape, and embossment of the rune means, they add up to consecutive numbers: 1, 2, 3--though they are not in any particular order.

The magic you can detect associated with the runes suggests if you activate the runes (by touching them perhaps? Saying the number aloud in the correct language?) in order, this will in turn cause the stone disc to move in some way. Liber wonders aloud if her Truespeech might be adequate to speak the numbers with effect.

Meanwhile Mira analyzes the key. Given the overwhelming school it is associated with is conjuration, it is definitely not a phylactery. More likely, it has to do with portals or planar travel. Occam's razor suggests it is indeed what it looks like: a key, but to a door to somewhere Beyond. Knowing more certain what it does would either require a more powerful spell like legend lore or finding the "door" or object it is meant to open.

Mira pulls out her infiltration tools and manages to extract the eyes from the statue. In the hollow of the skull in the back she sees a glint: something else concealed within the skull. Removing it as well, it is a large metal key that would be plain looking, save that it is so black it seems to absorb the light around it. The top of the ring end of the key is joined by a silvery ball, whose glint is the only reason you spotted it at all. If you look at it with detect magic it radiates blindingly powerful conjuration magic, but you have--in your very experienced years--never seen its like.

Lazur hits the button, and the grate slides into the floor, revealing the subfloor below it, a 10 foot wide circle with a 6 inch drain hole in the middle of the floor, the stains of which suggest copious quantities of blood went down. The circle is inscribed with two different sets of various arcane runes, one set goes all around the edge of the circle, and another carved more roughly into the stone within the inner circle around the whole. The edge of the circle and the center of the circle are separated by a very deep groove.

Lazur, having spent some time as a forger, might be the first to recognize that beyond the two rune sets being clearly different, the set in the middle was clearly inscribed by an entirely different entity than whoever crafted the rune set on the edge of the circle. Between Lazur, Mira, and Krowys, the three of you can tell that the middle inscriptions were made much later than the ones on the edge. Furthermore, those of you with arcane knowledge can tell the middle set of runes involve a necromantic ritual. Fading magical auras lingering on the stone indicate said ritual was completed. One may reasonably speculate they had something to do with the ravener.

The external set of runes is more of an enigma. The runes here none of you have quite seen, and yet there is something annoyingly familiar about them. They are very carefully carved into the stone, with both raised and lowered edges and have different colored pigments poured into them that have somehow stood the test of time.

Krowys, with his particular talents, picks up certain patterns that are similar to Vargilder runes.

Give me a Linguistics check, please (any of you, but I'd suggest aiding Krowys if more than one of you want to roll). You may also make any other relevant knowledge or similar rolls you like, cast spells, or use abilities that you think may be helpful in figuring out the edge runes--if at least, you wish to.

On the battle map, I've made a rough diagram of what the circle looks like. The actual symbols/letters used have no meaning, it is just intended to supplement my description in case it is not clear.

At the risk of being annoying, hello? Y'all here? Everything ok?

A reminder I ask folks to say something if they are here but have nothing to say, so I know everything's ok and that it might be on me to push things forward. I'm still waiting on either discussion or reactions to the shiny, red, candy like button. Thank you.

Krowys when you return with us don't forget to make your rolls, but I'll move us on

Our heroes getting seriously hurt doesn't happen that often, so they reluctantly but only briefly pause to attend to various otherworldly insect bites and ooze bruises.

They then give the room a good explore, with Lazur looking over the grate and Mira examining the large statue in the room. For Lazur's part, he can see that the grate is made of an unusual steel alloy--which the cherufes would not be capable of making. Either the material comes from before the Cataclysm, or someone very unusual and very capable lives or lived down here at some point--and had some tie to the dragon. Perhaps Hrifgarders, like svirfneblin or duergar?

The grate seems to be designed to open on some kind of complex and half-covered hinge built straight into the floor. It is not trapped, but clearly it functions according to some kind of opening mechanism and any attempt to force it would likely break it.

It is made of, unsurprisingly, volcanic stone, but beautifully and so smoothly carved that it truly looks like some kind of exotic bone. The eyes, which almost appear to glow, are multifaceted, expertly cut rubies--each the size of a halfling's fist and at least worth 2,500 gp. They are merely decorative, and someone with either an appropriate tool or skilled with jewelry, art, masonry, or a similiar skill can likely remove them without issue. It is also possible to remove them without such skill but it may take more time and frustration. (The entire statue could also be lifted off its mount and taken, but it looks like it weighs about 200 lbs.)

Perhaps even more interesting is the black stone mount upon which it sits, about three feet wide and one foot all. Underneath the head, in the middle of the mount, is a third, ruby carved into a simple disc shape. Unlike the other two, it is not decoration, but embedded into the mount--it is a button, and it looks like it can be pressed.

All of you have seen enough dungeons in your life to add two and two and figure that the button likely opens the grate.

Mira also notices other images painted on the round statue mount, though they have no arcane function. One is of a skeletal dragon forcing four small dragons to kneel before it. Another is of hooded figures and lizards holding up a large claw-shaped object before what looks like hole in a wall (or at least some kind of dark blob).

Will update tomorrow

Ah yes, you are all poisoned. I did not roll your saves for the last round. Go ahead and roll your Fortitude Saves DC 22 or take 1d4 more Dex damage. If you succeed on the saves, your poisoned condition is cured. You have 4 additional rounds of poison otherwise and will either need to make more saving throws, or get healed by Ariston.

I believe the existing tally of damage is all of you have 1 Dex damage from the poison so far--plus whatever happens on the Fort save above--and Lazur has 2 additional Dex damage. Mira also was 1 Wisdom damage. All of you are also Exhausted except for Lazur (which Ariston's magic can also cure).

Go ahead and resolve that and then I'll get to Lazur's investigation of the grate

Thanks for letting us know!

As Mira approaches the Giant Immortal Ichor, it lunges a pseudopod at her. Attack of Opportunity, which being slowed does not prevent. It has reach because it has the giant template. It can sense you with blindsense.

Attack of Opportunity, Slowed: 1d20 + 21 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 21 - 1 = 24
Miss chance, roll 50 or less hits: 1d100 ⇒ 49
Damage: 6d8 + 9 ⇒ (8, 2, 6, 7, 3, 7) + 9 = 42 plus Wisdom Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 1

The creature's unholy slime slaps the sorceress full in the face, causing her skin to burn and seethe for a moment and rendering her slightly disoriented.

Nonetheless as she had been fully healed before she attempted, she is still well enough to use her considerable magics to send the awful creature to another realm. As the creature *poofs* into another dimension, the light in the room disappears and she is left to see via darkvision.

Not really following what the Sense Motive/Bluff is for. Generally we don't use those skills versus fellow PCs and there's no one else here to Bluff. If it's just a matter of wanting to remain mysterious, I think you can leave that to RP between you and your fellow players.

Now that Mira is in the center of the room, she can see the grating has hinges and can open--although there is no discernable handle to pull the grating off. There is some kind of pattern in the floor beneath the grating but it is hard to see what it might be with the colorless view of darkvision and being blocked by the grating--but whatever the pattern is is definitely arcane in nature. Properly analyzing it will require removing the grate (whether that means you figure out how it is supposed to open or find another means of changing or moving it).

The room otherwise contains the remains of other cherufes and a nasty looking statue of a skeletal dragon's head on one end of the room.

Krowys and Liber are up! Then back to Mira for top of the next round. Only critter left is Immortal Ichor whose stats have not changed.