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Post by tengen on Nov 23, 2013 19:01:04 GMT
She let a small sigh escape her lips at the news of the relic being what it was. It did sound intriguing but she chalked it up to something to investigate later. A small part of her was actually happy that it was not that easy, she had asked for adventure after all and here it was.
I must agree with Jiao, more contention would be pointless." she say letting her minor slip of expression return to a controlled serene image.
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Post by jon on Nov 23, 2013 22:56:19 GMT
"I am agreed but we would do well to learn more of what we will be facing. Alicia, could you ask whether they have any useful information or maps that we could use? Unless the concerned thief will be able to help us in that regard." Hans gives a scathing look towards the newcomer, not bothering to hide his distrust.
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Post by tengen on Nov 25, 2013 6:58:41 GMT
She gives him a pained expression.
"I amin doubt but it does not hurt to ask I guess" She says via her silent message to hans before turning back to father.
"Being the brave warriors that you are, I am to assume you have delved into the crypt countless time. You would not happen to have any useful knowlege or even maybe a map we could use before venturing into its depths?" She says looking hopeful at that last part.
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 25, 2013 18:40:19 GMT
"I'm with you all," Leath whispers to the group so as to not distract from Alicia's conversation with the dwarves. "We've got several orbs ahead of us, and presumably plenty of conflict. Best to take the path of least resistance here."
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Post by Admin on Nov 25, 2013 22:21:12 GMT
Father leads them deeper into the woods, and along a distance hillside coated in trees. They can see majestic fjords beneath them, as water cut into the tight hillsides. Forests spread out across the land, a sea of green contrasted with the sea of blue. The duergar stopped at a rocky outcropping, a dark hole yawing open. Within, there is the gleaming of something metallic.
"This is as far as we can take you," Father says. "For we must return, lest others usurp our position."
He shouts orders to his unit, and the dwarves march into the greenery. Outside, Jiao begins checking his toys. He has a new weapon, a pistol with multiple barrels he had commissioned in Venice before the group left. He loads each of the pepperbox's six barrels, and loads shot into his blunderbuss. Whatever is down in the dungeon, the cleric wants to be well prepared for.
A cantrip illuminates the entrance to the cave for a few moments. A large brass doorway, covered in sleek lines and etchings, sits with one door propped off its hinges. Illegible runes mark the sides, and there can be no contention this is artificial. Metallic clanking and pounding is heard from within the passage, a slow and deliberate noise in the background.
"Tell me, my Greek friend," Jiao says to Phobos. "Can you read anything?"
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Post by Admin on Nov 26, 2013 17:50:08 GMT
As the half elven wizard approaches the door, parts of his helmet begin glowing a soft blue color.
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Post by kooshster on Nov 26, 2013 19:03:53 GMT
Psychlis runs his hands over the strange runes. They're just visible enough in the low light. "I...didn't think that I could read them, but there's something about this helmet that makes it...legible. I can't follow much, but it's definitely Greek. I've never seen this dialect, but there's enough to get a rough outline. There was once an ancient core of people here, possibly from the mythical island of Ionia. I've read that, four centuries back, they discovered a new form of mathematics that would revolutionize everything we know about the application of technology. Their discoveries made them powerful and dangerous for the Church, who persecuted them. They disappeared into obscurity, but there's always been speculation that they would survive somehow. These Clockwork soldiers would undoubtedly be something capable of being produced by the Ionians. If they really have a four-century head start on advanced mathematics, I wouldn't be surprised if they could develop animated machines. We'll have to be careful. There may be any number of mechanized traps below that we will be unfamiliar with."
The wizard smiled in the low light, his azure eyes twinkling with the discovery of the unknown. "Sounds like fun. Shall we go down?"
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 26, 2013 20:44:50 GMT
Leath feels a shudder run through him. A group of mathematicians advancing technology by leaps and bounds--this could be worse than the cities. Clockwork soldiers--machine-people. No blood, no flesh, no hair. He felt an urge to kill them as he had helped to kill the undead monstrosities on their last quest. But could things of metal even be killed? What would you call it? Disassembling? Unwinding? Destroying?
He misses Flann, his steed. There is no place for the pony in a dark cave, especially one like this, where the strange metallic noises would hurt his ears. He was stabled in the city and was probably yearning, as Leath himself is, to be out in the woods.
With a heavy heart, Leath steps through the brass doorway into the darkness beyond.
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Post by tengen on Nov 27, 2013 2:21:38 GMT
Alicia paces still slightly filled with adrenalin from her earlier encounter busying herself by picking up a few small stones along the clearing as she waits for the Wizard to interpret the runes. When the wizard and leathe enters Alicia follows after him with Azreal close behind both on high alert from the get go.It felt different she thought, There was a certain air of excitement withing this danger that the other encounters did not come close to. Being a human Alicia squints into the darkness for a bit before simply giving up and casting a light onto one of her stones.
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Post by Admin on Nov 27, 2013 20:25:10 GMT
Psychlis looks over the helmet in greater detail. The Greek dialect runes seem to have been added later, within the last few centuries. The overall craftsmanship, however, dates back thousands of years to the First Dwarven period. He recalls his history: Long before the Sumerian ziggurats or Egyptian pyramids rose, the first major dwarven civilization ruled Northern Europe, and perhaps places beyond. Their iron working and metallurgy leaked to the other races, eventually ushering in the Iron Age. By this time, however, their numbers were in stark decline. Around five centuries before the assassination of Julius Caesar, the First Dwarven strongholds were abandoned. Their population dropped sharply, and the survivors either migrated outwards, becoming the standard dwarven clans known throughout Europe, or isolated and inbred themselves into obscurity as the duergar. What caused the population drop is still unknown, however, as civil war, plague, collapsing economies or political chaos, or some magical event all have been hypothesized. The fabled thaumaturgical mathematicians of Ionia, if indeed they were here, would have come as archeologists. scavengers, or researchers long after the First Dwarven civilization imploded. Psychlis reflects that mathematics is the gate and key of all science and magic, for its use in different forms is what allows both to function. The runes that are glowing seem to be some kind of utility lights, glowing enough to help him see around and in front of him, like a headlamp in a miner's helmet.
---
The party steps into the tunnel, and machinery springs to life. Chandliers of brass and bronze activate as gas hisses, and sparks ignite it. The system seems automated, activating only when movement occurs in the tunnel. At the end of the hallway is another set of doors, this pair locked.
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Post by henwen88 on Nov 28, 2013 1:38:15 GMT
Leath jumps at the hissing of the gas and the sudden light. He feels like a mouse in a strange trap it does not understand. Impulsively, he runs toward the set of doors ahead and searches for a way to open them. He is afraid of being shut in this tunnel if the outside door closes, and has begun to feel claustrophobic.
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Post by Admin on Nov 28, 2013 5:23:25 GMT
The hallway itself is a stone passageway about 30 feet in length, before the final set of doors. At regular intervals along the wall are brass ornaments and fixtures of unknown purpose. Stone benches line the sides of the corridor, but any cushions or rugs has been reduced to dust.
At the end of the hallway, Leath opens the next set of doors. As the ornate brass door flies opened, he sees the room beyond it: it is a rectangular room, about 50 by 30 feet. There's a small fireplace of sorts in the corner, and it bears signs of previous (and long gone) habitation. On the other side of the room are another set of double doors, but with a rack of levers and switches beside them. The stonework on the walls, floor, and ceiling is identical to the previous hallway, but seems to have less mold and mildew growing. Leath notices a possible reason why: a construct of some kind, a clockwork spider the size of a dog, seems to be scraping out some manner of gunk from between two stones.
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Post by jon on Nov 28, 2013 9:46:06 GMT
Hans eyes the construct suspiciously giving it a wide berth, as he loads his dragoon pistol. "I think we should be careful what we touch," Hans whispers as he inspects the levers [perception].
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Post by Admin on Nov 28, 2013 18:43:10 GMT
[Perception roll=15] Hans notices in the center, there is one large lever in the downwards position. Beside it are several smaller switches and levers. Perhaps they engage subsystems after a primary mechanism is activated.
Psychlis and Alicia hear a strange voice speaking directly into their hands. Alicia recalls it is the same one from before. "Repair. Rebuild."
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Post by tengen on Nov 29, 2013 5:09:54 GMT
(I assume you mean heads?)
Even though she knows she is not hearing it she quickly stops in her tracks to look about the room for an audible source.
"There it is again....." she glances to the ceiling as if trying to better tune into more esoteric senses. "It's different now though." She mentions more to herself as her gaze falls on the spider letting the " hmmm, repair...."She says more closely inspecting the contraption before facing Hans.
"Safer bet would be to avoid damage to the structure."She says returning to the group if her inspection does not show to be an error in judgement.
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