3 - Shraevyn's Tomb

[Arbuthnott]

Amarandé practically coos as he observes the vision from vessel C. "Scrying, the purest form of the Art. I assume this to be water then; it lubricates the transfer of the weave, you know, and so acts as an excellent conduit.."

He stares vacantly into the distance for a good half a minute as he silently ponders vessel D. "Akin to the second urn, I would label this school enchantment, or possibly abjuration... If all else fails, perhaps you could flick through your newest tome, Lirion, to spy any relevancy to our current predicament."

"So far, that is fire," he nods at Theoath, "and water, with a possible contender for air and a flimsy suggestion of ooze, or perhaps even ice... wizards, I tell you..." He rolls his eyes, before glancing over at Jack. "What of you, master Jack? Was your urn obvious or tedious?"

Unless anybody else goes for them first, Amarandé will explore the final two chambers: first E, and then finally F, using his now familiar routine.

[Excior]

Valandil walks back over to the symbol etched into the door, his expression thoughtful as he considers the arrangement of the elemental symbols. He glances back at the mosaic on the floor, which forms an eight-pointed star with specific elemental associations.

 

"Perhaps we are looking at this wrong," he muses aloud, his monotone voice conveying his analytical approach. "The symbols are arranged Fire, Water, Air, and Earth."

 

With deliberate steps, Valandil positions himself at the point of the star facing the door, which he identifies as representing “ Fire ” (North). He then skips the next point (Northeast), as it is empty. Moving to the following point (East), he recognizes it as representing “Earth.” Continuing around the star, he skips the next point (Southeast), moves to the subsequent point (South), representing “Water,” and skips the point after that (Southwest). Finally, he completes the circle, skipping the next point (West) and stopping at the last one (Northwest), representing  “Air.”

 

Raising his arms out to his sides, Valandil gestures to indicate the entirety of the mosaic, now correctly interpreted based on the elemental associations and the skipping of intermediary points within the eight-pointed star.

 

"Fire opposes Water, and Air opposes Earth," he concludes, his logical deduction guiding his interpretation of the elemental arrangement within the mosaic.

[rauhric]

THEOATH "THEO" GRANGER
Human, LG, Paladin of Chauntea [3]
AC 5 | HP 16

---

Theo nods his head in agreement with Valandil, "That sounds like a good idea. Should we try it?"

---

 

OoC: Maybe not all 8 positions need to be used. It could be like a combination lock. There are 8 positions and 10 jars, so any possible combination could be place on the star. Maybe its like STARGATE? If anyone know what I mean.

Edited April 18 by rauhric (see edit history)

[Sellsword]

Splitting up, you take a look at the remaining vessels. Amarandé examines the last alcove on the south wall. The lid of the jar is missing. Peering inside, he sees moist, dark dirt that fills the container about one third of the way. Though the exterior is cool to the touch, as he pushes his fingers into the dirt Amarandé determines that the temperature of the soil increases the further he pushes his hand into it, until finally the heat is unbearable without risking harm.

Three alcoves remain unexplored on the opposite side of the room. The first vessel has a carving of a skeletal humanoid on the surface of the jar. A cracked helm and rusty sword are all the ghoulish creature carries. It makes no movement, but its ghastly appearance is bone-chilling. The face of the skeleton on the canister appears almost too real for comfort.

The second golden jar appears plain in every way, but when trying to lift it, Theoath discovers that the golden jar shimmers, becomes heavier, and turns earthen brown in his hands. The fine workmanship of the vessel is transformed, and its weight increases as it slithers into a claylike, lop-sided shape. After a few moments, the jar becomes a sparkling silver and feels lighter in weight. Finally it returns to its original golden form.

In the final alcove, a book appears where the golden vessel should be. The crumbling tome's ancient pages are brown and curled. The book is open, and you can detect a faint glow coming from the paper pages. Valandil and Lirion are nearest the alcove--to Valandil, pages contain a mesmerizing array of glyphs and sigils that have a slight glow. Lirion, however, is able to discern writing on the page that Valandil cannot.

Shraevyn's Guide to Magical Mastery, the text begins. In order to successfully achieve the maximum effect of any given spell, one must...

Suddenly, one of the letters on the page twists and writes itself free of the parchment, and a snake-like body appears in its place. The reptilian head looks out from the book toward Lirion and hisses, rearing back for a strike. In seconds, there is a flash of amber and the book suddenly becomes a jar once again.

OOC: All of the alcoves have been explored, and the magical properties of each jar described. Now it's up to you to put things together!!!

[Arbuthnott]

"Hold!" Amarandé calls out. "Everyone just.. hold, for a moment. These pots don't add up... I think this is a trap." Running a hand over his skullcap in agitation, he begins to pace.

"We have so far assumed that the solution is related to the arcane elements, courtesy of Valandil. Water [C] and Earth [G] seem obvious, but Air [A] seems a slight stretch, and was that Fire [I] or simply radiance? And what of the others? Hot soil suggests Magma [E], which is one of the para-elements, but Lightning [J] is instead a quasi-element... Perhaps Valandil is correct and we only have to fill four of the indentations, but then which is Earth: the hot dirt [E] or the vessel of clay [G], or even the skeletal visage [F]?"

"My thoughts keep returning to the symbol Valandil translated for us, the obvious hint that prompted this line of thinking. Why is it there? Shraevyn would have surely been able to remember the solution, so why leave a clue that would allow unwanted guests free access to his abode? It makes no sense! Unless it's a false lead; it's what I'd do.. and we've already encountered two mechanical traps, one of which was behind an obvious route forward."

Sitting crosslegged on the flood, he beckons Korlar over and begins to idly scratch the mastiff behind the ear. "There is another avenue of thought... Perhaps more clear than their corresponding elements, all eight of the primary schools of magic seem to be present among us. The invisible pot [A] represents Illusion, while the scrying water [C] is obviously Divination. The skull [F] is a symbol of Necromancy, and the snake [H] is clearly Conjuration. The lightning [J] would be Evocation... and the pot that opened my coffers [B] is probably Alteration... hmm.."

"The vision of a magical weapon [D] could either be Enchantment or Abjuration, although since nothing better represents enchantment I am more inclined in that direction.. Both of the earth pots [E&G] could be Alteration or Evocation, depending on the nature of their enchantment.. and that fiery light [I]? Was that Evocation or Abjuration? It is a complicated subject for sure, and I would never profess to be an expert."

"What do you all think? I know that not all of you are learned in the arcane arts, but doesn't this room stink of something foul to any of you? I just don't trust it."

 

Edited April 18 by Arbuthnott (see edit history)

[rauhric]

THEOATH "THEO" GRANGER
Human, LG, Paladin of Chauntea [3]
AC 5 | HP 16

---

Theo nods his head in agreement with Amarandé, "That sounds like a really good idea. I trust you."

---

 

OoC: It really is a great idea.

Edited April 24 by rauhric (see edit history)

[Lord Foul]

Mandons lets out a slow whistle. "Wow! I won't pretend to have understood half of that, but it sure sounded convincing. I was having similar trouble reconciling the almost elemental forces apparent here. I figured on the four main elements, Fire (I), Earth (G), Water (C) and Air (A), but my best guess for the others had three para-elements (magma, ice, ooze) and three quasi-elements (lightning, ash, radiance)... and that just doesn't seem to work."

"If there are eight schools of magic, as you say, then the numbers fit... and this place was designed by a wizard. Is there a logical order to them, in terms of the points of the star here? If that is the right answer, how do we know which one goes in each place?"

[cybersavant]

 

Kordannaghlan Penniesaver (gnome f2/th3) AC 09 Hp 16 thac0 19

 

"Do the schools of magic have opposites? Is it perhaps that simple - place them at opposite ends? Maybe his favorite is the main indentation?"

 

Show this

broadsword thac0 19, 1att/rnd, 2d4/1d6+1, spd5; dagger thac0 19 2att/rnd, d4/d3; shortbow thac0 19, 2a/rnd, d6

gnome, common, giant, goblin, kobold

 

wi/10' unsafe walls 1-7d10 9 9traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33

 

Edited April 19 by cybersavant (see edit history)

[Arbuthnott]

Amarandé exhales deeply. "The schools of magic do have... opposing schools, I suppose you might say. Abjuration opposes Alteration, Conjuration with Divination, Enchantment with Evocation, and Illusion with Necromancy; alphabetised, and thus easy to remember. If they have a classical order beyond that, however, I know not. I elected not to specialise, you see.."

"Now, if we assume that all eight schools are present, then they can all be comfortably accounted for, with two duplicates: the urn of opening and the alchemical urn could equally be applied to the same school, the school of physical animation and change; likewise, both the hot soil and the electricity could equally apply to the school of elemental power. Do you think that there are two pots that are to be excluded, or that the specific pots are irrelevant so long as the school is represented?"

Inclining his head to Kord, he continues. "Based upon our discoveries in yon library, I suspect Shraevyn held a fascination with enchantment. I would lead with that if any... but maybe it's more metaphorical than that, and the pot that opens things should be placed nearest the door we wish to open... If we place enchantment forward, we'll have evocation at our backs, which is the makings of a trap if ever I've seen one, but maybe that's a bluff.."

Pointing at each indentation, starting at the one closest to our goal and working clockwise, he recites "Sword. Skull. Snake. Opening or Alchemy. Lightning or Soil. Invisibility. Scrying. Light. I can't say that that is right, but magic is more an art than a science, and there's a certain poetry about putting each of those pots together. Still, I would prepare for the worst should we attempt it."

[Lord Foul]

"Are you sure you've identified the right spell represented by each of the urns? I'm not a magician, so I'm happy to defer to your expertise here, but if there are two that are meant to be left out I think it's worth being reasonably sure we don't include them through simple oversight. Maybe two of them don't match any known spell, but our imaginations make links because we want to find them."

"Perhaps if you take us through them and set out your reasoning... any that are uncertain might emerge?"

Edited April 20 by Lord Foul (see edit history)

[Arbuthnott]

"Hard to say, without knowing the nature of their enchantment; in any case, I don't know every spell in the realm, and I definitely don't know every spell currently on display."

"Necromancy is the study of life and death, healing and exhaustion; the skull is the obvious contender here, representing death and undeath, but I can't rule out that fiery light as being some form of advanced healing spell. Divination is the school of learning, enhancing the senses and revealing information: again, the obvious contender is the scrying urn, but the sword was revealed via a vision. Conjuration is simple; the snake is the only contender. Similarly, Enchantment should be simple, that of the enchanted sword... and yet every pot here was enspelled using enchantment magics."

"The rest are more complex. Illusion at first glance appears clear cut; Invisibility is the most famous of illusion magics, and yet such is the nature of illusion that any of these urns could represent it, especially the snake and the fiery light. Evocation, the school of power, is likely to be the lightning pot; and yet the fiery light could represent fire rather than light, and the heat in the soil is similarly evocative. Abjuration encompasses wards and protective magics, which is a truly versatile coverage; wards tend to react to stimuli, perhaps getting hotter the more they are tampered with, or causing everything to open when the target is opened, or even just a simple light ward to illuminate an item. None of these pots represent a defensive enchantment, which Abjuration is most commonly attributed to... And Alteration? The school that encompasses animation and change could apply to the sword, the snake, the light, the soil, or the pot that animated everything to burst open.."

With a sign, he glances over the pots once again. "The ones I'm confident in my guess are the Snake, the Scrying urn, the Skull, the Lightning and the Alchemical pot. Perhaps the Sword, the Invisible urn and the pot that opens things. The others, I am guessing at, but my guesses are mostly from which schools are as yet unfilled, which is unhelpful if two of the pots are meant to be excluded."

[Lord Foul]

"Yeah, I think I follow you... for the most part. Seems though that you have two pretty strong contenders for Alteration, in the one that opens everything and the one that changes form from pot to clay to silver and gold."

"And that stuff you were saying about Abjuration magic... wards and the like. That one had a fiery shield, so maybe its the shield that's important, rather than the fire?"

"Sounds to me like the odd ones out must be the one with the damp soil that got warm, and whichever of the Alterations feels less likely."

"You've shown yourself to be the expert among us, so I'm happy for you to make the call. Come what may, we're all behind you!" 😊

[Arbuthnott]

Amarandé scoffs at himself. "A shield, of course... I overlooked that detail. In that case, I should choose the opening enchantment over the alchemical one; alchemy is its own branch of magic, and thus the less pure representation. And with that, we should also pick the Lightning pot, leaving the two earthen enchantments as the outliers."

With a nod, he mutters "Yes, that's it! Starting at the point facing onwards and moving clockwise: Sword; Skull; Snake; Opening; Lightning; Invisibility; Scrying; Fiery Shield. Unless anybody has any other suggestions, this is my recommendation, and we're unlikely to see if we are right or not unless we try."

Edited April 21 by Arbuthnott (see edit history)

[cybersavant]

Quote

Divination is the school of learning, enhancing the senses and revealing information

Kordannaghlan Penniesaver (gnome f2/th3) AC 09 Hp 16 thac0 19

 

"Wait. Maybe information is most important?"

 

Show this

broadsword thac0 19, 1att/rnd, 2d4/1d6+1, spd5; dagger thac0 19 2att/rnd, d4/d3; shortbow thac0 19, 2a/rnd, d6

gnome, common, giant, goblin, kobold

 

wi/10' unsafe walls 1-7d10 9 9traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33traps 451d100 33 33

 

[Arbuthnott]

"What makes you think that, Kord? I know that divination is my favourite, but why do you think it should go first here?"