Myn is, for reasons that are probably very suspicious, very familiar with this sort of magic. As he examines the floor panel, he realizes almost immediately that this is a standard sacrificial arcane mechanism tied to the electrified door--something needs to be killed on the panel in order to unseal it. Moreover, two sacrifices are necessary, and they must be done in a particular way--one must be killed by elemental wind and fire, and another must be killed by elemental wind and cold.

>>73860

"I don't know very much about this kind of thing, but according to the imp we need to sacrifice something using cold air and something using hot air on that panel to unseal the door."

Myn feigns ignorance as he describes the mechanism in detail.

Intrigued by the possibility of failure, Samel puts his two cents.

"If I am not mistaken, this kind of ritual often seems very simple, but contains a logic that is not. We should stake everything on the first try, making the steps in the order they are listed. Let's be careful, we do not know what might happen in case of failure. "

Last edited at 13/10/23(Wed)19:26:32

>>73862
"Well, I guess. I was thinking of using some of the scarabs, but if we want to make sure it works, maybe we need better sacrifices?"

>>73863
"If that is necessary, then myself and Rutger can make ourselves useful. Perhaps it will respond positively toward a dragonborn."

>>73864

"It seems a bit excessive to sacrifice yourself to open a door, Mister Tormine."

>>73865
"I figured. I was being sarcastic." Torinn replies dryly, pointing to the scarabs. "I think they expect us to use those instead."

>>73864
"We should really examine all of our options first," responds the shaman, and walks up to the mundane panel. "Clear."

Assuming it's not difficult, I'll try closing the wall.

Provided Sureiya instructs her how, sealing off the hall with the sliding wall is a simple matter. Sureiya believes it is easily reversible as well, and this mechanism doesn't appear to be timed.

Scarabs after all, huh.

"Then, for the sacrifices. Do we risk loosing the scarabs under the grate, or backtrack to retrieve a couple from the feasting hall?"

"I think I can slightly open it so only a few ones can escape" the orc says.
"Are they even dangerous?"

>>73870
"Well, okay. They're not supposed to be dangerous unless agitated, but they can swarm, and I don't think these would have been fed regularly. Please be careful."

The shaman reopens the wall.

Last edited at 13/10/24(Thu)00:05:46

Sureiya slightly opens the crate, and closes it immediately as soon he see some scarabs getting out.

>>73872
Mage hand to catch one, maybe two.

Myn picks up the portable orb, attempting to activate it with his super cool magics.

When Sureiya switches the grate to allow the passage of scarabs, they immediately begin to pour out. Even as fast as the half-orc closes it back up, enough have escaped to form a swarm of the scarabs--roughly a hundred or so. They do not attack or act aggressively, though they are good at evading Bernkastel's attempts to capture them with mage hand--it takes a few tries before she's able to get one in the hand's grip.

Grasping the orb in his hand, Myn feels that he could use this orb to direct the movement of the entire swarm of scarabs, though he feels like he is unable to control their movement precisely enough to force them to attack anything. He also feels that the control would be broken if he was to lose direct line of effect to the scarabs.

The scarabs begin to mill about the hallway, in seemingly random directions.

>>73875
This is obviously too many, isn't it.

...? "What's this?" says the shaman, taking Myn's orb.

>>73876

"It seems this allows one to direct that swarm."

"Finally, initiative in saving me work."

>>73877
The shaman hands it back to Myn. "Couldn't you have used this sooner?"

>>73878

"I was preoccupied in observing your skill with that cantrip. My apologies."

Myn directs a scarab onto the sacrificial panel, motioning for the remainder of the group to clear the way as he prepares to activate the fire orb.

"Overoptimistic thinking, it seems."

And what's this switch. http://orokos.com/roll/145086

As Myn channels the command into the orb, he will note that the entire swarm appears to obey his command. It seems too difficult to transmit the command to individual scarabs, as they barely have a mind at all. Bernkastel's switch inspection reveals that it is tied to something else mechanically, like a hatch or panel that's somewhere in this hallway that you probably haven't discovered yet.

>>73881
With the taller spirit's encouragement, the shaman presses the switch.

When Bernkastel activates the switch, a well-hidden hatch above the floor panel at the end of the hallway opens, and what appears to be the carcass of a pack animal drops onto the panel itself. The corpse has decayed such that it is difficult to recognize, other than the fact that it was a large beast of some sort. This garners no reaction from the panel itself, though the scarabs start to swarm towards the corpse.

>>73883
What. Who goes to troubles like these to build a lock? http://orokos.com/roll/145089

Closing wall, ready for fire orb.

Last edited at 13/10/24(Thu)23:45:37

Myn activates the fire orb.

With the passage sealed, Myn's control over the scarabs breaks. The warlock activates the orb of flame, and there is a brief sound like a blast of fire on the other side of the wall. There is a faint crackling, but it doesn't appear to be continuous.

"I think it stopped?" Opening the wall.

Sliding the wall back into place brings a gust of warm air, though nothing harmful. There's still some lingering flames on the other side, but the scarabs are dead and the corpse is more or less intact, though smoldering.

"...should I let some more get out?" the ranger asks, still a little unsure about the ritual.

>>73890
"Yes, please do. We need to finish the next step."

Sureiya opens and closes the crate again, hoping that the next swarm won't be harmful either.

If the flames don't go out quickly, I'll have to close the wall and either have Myn activate the ice orb or do it myself if I can.

As Sureiya releases another swarm of scarabs, the shaman realizes the flames don't seem inclined to put themselves out very quickly, and thus instructs Sureiya to seal off the passage once more. Once that is done, Bernkastel easily activates the cold orb, which resonates briefly as you hear the sound of wind on the other side of the barrier.

>>73894
Such a hassle. Wall open pls.

There's some scorch marks and smoke, but other than that the hallway appears fairly clear. The fire has been put out and the cold wind doesn't seem to have left and lingering effects of its own.

Myn repeats the process with the ice orb.

>>73897
ok i close door to let him use ice orb

Once the scarabs are directed into place, the shaman closes off the aft hall before Myn uses the ice orb, causing a wooshing noise on the other side of the wall. There is also a sound like crackling energy.

>>73899
"I really hope that was the last step."

Once the whooshing stops, opening wall.

When the hallway is opened once more, the arcane energy on the floor panel and lightning barrier on the far door are now gone. It would appear that the way is now clear, if you simply open the large double doors that block your way.

>>73901
"This should be the throne room. I think we can expect combat," states the shaman, taking the ten-foot pole from Torinn.

- Ten-foot pole returns to bag of holding.
- Mage hand drops the scarab.
- Main hand: Goblin Totem Javelin +2, off-hand: Chieftain's Short Spear +1.
- I'll follow Torinn once he leads the way again. My position should be at or close to the front, since my speed is low.
- Reminder: Spirit of Vigor gave 4 temporary HP to everyone minus me.
- The Combat Leader feature grants +2 initiative to everyone. It's included in my initiative value, but I'm not sure about the others.

Last edited at 13/10/26(Sat)21:19:40

Also in the front lines, Sureiya prepares himself for the worst.
Get both blades ready, Harmony in main, Farbond in off
Move to the front
Ready an action: Charge against the closer hostile creature that is or gets in range.

Last edited at 13/10/27(Sun)14:07:43

Right then. Time to negotiate. Time to play the peacekeeper. Torinn throws open the doors to the room

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4276179/ 25

and screams, "Hey! Let's talk it out, faggots!"

Whoops.
rearm self with sword and shield

As Torinn, still mounted, throws open the heavy double doors, there is a sound like a crack of thunder, and a roaring voice from the other side: "Brother, the throne room has been breached! Reseal the door, quickly!"

On the other side of the doors is a large, elaborate throne room, decorated with red carpet, orbs sitting on pedestals, and wall hangings. It looks like there was more decoration here at one point, but some have been removed. On a dais on the north side of the room sits a strange-yet-familiar looking throne with a translucent figure bound there by magical energy--a familiar figure, at that. The windrunner appears to be screaming, though you cannot hear any voice coming from the figure, and is apparently struggling against the energies that bind her to the throne. The throne itself is quite clearly not the original throne that sat there, and in fact, bears a striking resemblance to the strange thrones you discovered in the lairs of Sankis and Hemah.

Four large, sandstone pillars stand in the room's center, bulky, and clearly useful as cover. However, the pillars appear cracked and unstable, as if too much damage would collapse them. Fortunately they appear more ornamental than functional, such that destroying the pillars would not cause the room to cave in. A closer examination of the pillars may reveal more detail. OOC: Dungeoneering to examine the pillars. However, the creatures occupying the room are perhaps the group's biggest concern.

Scattered all over the room are scarabs, organized into swarms. There are roughly twenty in all that you can see from your current vantage point, though they don't seem to be reacting to you at all. On the left side of the room is a hulking, blue-skinned humanoid with a full white beard hefting a massive maul that crackles with thunderous energy. He wears fur-trimmed leathers that are colored a very light creamy brown, and his face is twisted in a rage-filled expression as he hefts the maul upwards in a battle stance. On the opposite end of the room is a thinner, yet tall humanoid with similar physical characteristics, only garbed in a set of very light blue robes with silver studding, tied together with a leather belt. In one hand he grasps an orb implement clearly sized for giants that looks remarkably similar to the scarab-controlling orb Myn used before it shrunk down. From his other hand he channels energy that arcs towards the throne and is apparently affecting the windrunner in some way. Both giants are surrounded by magic circles that glow a brilliant blue. OOC: Two separate arcana checks for giant knowledge.

The orb-wielding giant responds, "Strike them down as they come in! I'll need a moment to divert the energy!"

"Hi, we're here to free the slaves, release the windrunner, claim the leyline, and take all your treasure. You should surrender now."

http://orokos.com/roll/145804
http://orokos.com/roll/145805
http://orokos.com/roll/145811

Last edited at 13/10/27(Sun)14:41:07

dungeoneering on pillars : http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4276239/ (22)

"...so many of them."
Distracted by the swarms, the ranger have no idea what the pillars do.
Dungeoneering (14) http://orokos.com/roll/145806

Whisper: "Mr. Tormyne, please consider bringing the carcass into the room to lure the scarabs."

Continued!
>>73910