RP – Ominous Tunnel Part 2

Continues from [Ominous Tunnel ]

Alik and Ga'Elian have returned to the site of the ominous tunnel they found last time. Annoyingly but unsurprisingly, it has both reset itself and changed its location... or at least the tunnels connecting to it have... since their last visit. Alik has been cursing fluently in Kulthian about this for at least the last fifteen minutes, while updating maps and noting just what exactly has changed. Regardless, here they are, in front of a tunnel full of cobblestones, some of which they've previously established were trap-triggers. "Important, whatever is at the end of this tunnel must be," Alik observes. "Dangerous, the passage is."

Ga'Elian turns to Alik and says, "I would thinks so. By the way, how exactly do you account for the tunnel's shifting location when you make your map?" Alik 's eyes light up in ways that might seem familiar to anyone who has deeply obsessive friends they've ever invited to discuss things they're currently obsessed with. Or who has ever met a gnome.

"Oh! Interesting, is. Show you, I will: see here? Old map, is." He pulls out a sheet of paper on which a fairly professionally laid out map of their earlier explorations is.

"And here is new map." He pulls out the sheet of vellum on which he's been making notes, lays it on top of the old map, showing how their explorations today have extended their previous understanding. "Three-way passage we went through, is here, yes? But was two-way passage before. So, I note third passage on new map. This symbol indicates that is change, not just correction of error."

Ga'Elian watches the demonstration with curious interest, then looks toward the curve at one end of the tunnel where they had set off the trap previously. He says, "Well, how about we push on a little further?" and begins to walk forward, bow drawn, and watching the floor's stones for further trap triggers.

Alik nods. "Agreed." He moves alongside Ga'Elian, so they can combine their efforts.

<OOC> Alik says, "Actually, what probably makes the most sense is to call this a take 10 roll for whichever one of us has the highest bonus, with an Aid bonus from the other."

<OOC> Ga'Elian gets a +23 bonus to perception in underground terrain.

<OOC> Alik says, "Cool. So 35 with T10 and the AidAnother, which seems a reasonable thing to say reliably finds traps?"

As they round the bend, they find no further traps, but they are presented with a double door, masterfully carved from a dense, black stone (like basalt) and polished to a high shine, despite the passage of untold centuries. The left door says "Court Chamber" in an ancient dialect of Kahzd-aul, and the right door says the same in Infernal. Each door's knob is made of a black metal, possibly adamantium. Above the doors in the center is the shattered black disk of Maugrim.

Ga'Elian walks right up to the doors and examines them carefully. He says, "Intriguing... and ominous. I think I would not like to be put on trial in this place."

"Mountain of the Void," Alik whispers in Khazdul, his voice at once awestruck and disgusted. 'No, nor I,' he continues in a more normal voice in Trade. 'Certainly not if I were innocent.' He inspects the doors carefully as well, then grabs the doorknob and pulls. It resists briefly, then swings open... with an eerie sense of deliberate choice, though that's probably just Alik's imagination. <khazdul>

The room thus revealed is large and spacious, with what resembles an altar, or perhaps merely a complicated lectern, on the far side. On the wall behind it is a mosaic of multicolored stones in a pattern resembling a multicolored dragon.

Encircling the chamber, and a little bit elevated is a gallery with seating seeminlgly designed for a host of dwarves. The front of the lectern has runes engraved upon it--again in Kahzd-aul and Infernal. The runes read as follows: Accuser - Zebub, Interrogator - Amaimon, Judgment - Ashmede, Tormentor of Souls - (broken off), and Salikotal - Vengeance.

As he explores the room, Ga'Elian says, "Interesting. The mosaic tiles in this dragon seem to conceal some buttons and switches."

Alik attempts to work out the ancient Khazdul text, with minimal success, but enough to confirm that the meaning is equivalent to the Infernal runes Ga'Elian is more well-versed with. "Well," he says. "Diabolical, is." He considers the runes as he approaches the lectern carefully. A tattered book lies on top of it, mostly degraded to dust. "Best to not touch," he suggests, "disintegrate completely, it likely will." If they can secure the location, specialists in handling ancient texts can likely determine waht they can.

At Ga'Elian's comment about the tiles he perks up. "Eh? Let me see." The mosaic is about five feet off the ground and thus irritatingly out of Alik's reach, but a nearby stone bench is light enough to pull beneath the tile... at least with his artifice armor augmentig his strength. He regards the switches cautiously. "Some are still live," he observes. "Unsure what they do." He reaches for one, clearly intending to activate it and see what happens.

Ga'Elian takes a silvered arrow from his quiver and nocks it, and turns to face the room at large. He says, "If you're sure..."

Alik clucks his tongue. "Unnecessary this would be, if certain I was. Certainty, we obtain from _performing_ the experiment." He flips one switch, and... nothing happens.

Ga'Elian relaxes slightly, and says, "Well, that was underwhelming. I'm sure that some of these things must have deteriorated over the intervening time, just like that book."

Alik nods. "Stable artifice, durable for long time can be. But not always." He flips another switch and, with a loud HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.... filling the room, abstract and viscerally disturbing patterns light up on the walls, filling the chamber with a dark purple light, rather like an angry bruise."

As the purplish light gradually brightens and illuminates the room, a couple of things are revealed. First, the color of the mosaic dragon turns all purple, although of varying shades and hues. Second, there can now be seen sections in the walls and floor where sliding panels and doors exist.

Ga'Elian stands there just observing, and says nothing.

Alik hrms. He pulls the goggles he usually wears down to his neck, and pulls down a pair of goggles over his eyes that normally rest on top of his head, and hops off the bench and walks over to inspect the now-revealed doors, and the markings on the wall. "Magic, is, but strange. Artifice, more like, than enchantment. But ordinary artifice, is not. Function is not clear."

He returns to the bench, flips the second switch back to its original position. Or tries to. It remains stuck.

Ga'Elian asks, "So, a 'court chamber', huh? Who do you suppose held court here?"

Alik hrms. "References, there are, in Morduzum lore, to 'Trials of Maugrim'. By Conquerors conducted. Primarily heresy trials... many regarding mortal agents whose service was drawn away to Taara and other rivals. Khazad-aul Conquerors performed such trials here, perhaps." He turns the next knob in the series, and to his surprise, the knob comes free in his hand with a complicated contraption attached to it, similar in some ways to his armor and the items affixed to his belt. The wall makes a squealing noise common to machinery doing something it wasn't designed to do, but the contraption in his hand remains inert. Two of the heads in the mural -- red and blue -- light up in their original colors.

As they do, two of the panels in the floor slide open allowing a blue metal orb the size of a basketball to rise from one, crackling with electricity, and a jet of bright red flame erupts from the other.

Ga'Elian stands suddenly much more alert and exclaims, "Well, it looks like you've found a couple of the trials. Perhaps the person on trial had to choose between them?"

Alik nods, both excited and nervous. "Yes." He regards the inert device in his hand and puts it in his pack for later examination. Only then does it occur to him that given that he's standing on the dias, he might be playing the role of accused here. "A bad thing, this perhaps is."

Ga'Elian wanders over to the lectern. Without touching it he carefully examines the book. "Hey, you know how all the carvings in here were in both languges? I can't tell for sure, but I think the book might be entirely in Infernal. Also, now that there is a little more light in here, there seems to be the remnant of a magic circle surrounding the lectern on the floor, possibly painted in blood?"

Ga'Elian adds, "Maybe once you document our findings here, we should report them to Fazahd."

Alik hrms. "Agreed. Enginebreaker's insight valuable." He carefully notes all the details of the room's artifice-network in his ledger, then attempts once again to flip the second switch back, which works this time... and the walls go dark again. The blue and red heads remain lit, however, and the blue orb and red circle remain as they were. "Mm. Well, let us see what we see." He puts his ledger carefully away in his pack, seals it up, and hops off the bench. With a deep breath he walks down the three steps down from the podium on the right... and the orb lights up and fires a blue bolt of lightning in his direction.

GAME: Alik rolls reflex: (15)+8: 23

GAME: Alik rolls 6d3: (14): 14

Alik dives nimbly to the ground as the bolt sails overhead, avoiding the bulk of it, though still struck by the corona. He twitches uncontrollably for a long moment, then rolls to his feet, singed around the edges but basically OK. "Unpleasant, that was." He acknowledges, while the orb goes dark and drops back into the ground.

GAME: Ga'Elian refreshes spells.

Alikbegins assembling a contraption out of the assorted gear affixed to his belt and armor.

At the same time as the orb sinks back into the floor, the pillar of flame ends as well, and both floor panels close. The sound of a gong being struck a single time fills the room.

Ga'Elian stows both bow and arrow within his quiver and hurries over to the intrepid gnome. Are you alright, buddy? Here, let me help you there." He calls upon "Niessa," to "may the holy light of the White Disk illuminate this darkness as it does the darkest night and heal the unholy wound inflicted on Alik."

GAME: Ga'Elian casts Cure Light Wounds. Caster Level: 8 DC: 15

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls CLW: (6)+5: 11

Alik smiles. "Will live. Thank you." He finishes assembling the device, which he places on what remains of his wound. It extends a dozen or so tiny filaments, which penetrate his flesh and stitch the remaining wound closed.

Ga'Elian says, "Well, at least the power of Niessa can be brought to bear in this chamber."

Alik nods. "Good point," he replies, and reopens his ledger to note it, along with the behavior of the orbs and various marginal notations regarding the intensity and type of the bolt that nearly fried him.