Black Zenith [Adventure RPG / Chapter Four: Fires of Heaven]

Watson eats his meal slowly, savoring every bite. "So decadent...mmmmm... Shanterel this is exactly how I wanted it cooked! Nos you had better get started on your plate, this meal won't be around to eternity." He wipes his mouth with his silk handkerchief by the end of it.

With that meal out of the way, Watson couldn't eat anything from Thunderpaw's plate on the grounds that he's "stuffed", and that he "isn't in the right mood for fruits anyway".

Watson sees Myra waving bye to Shanterel, "My, are we leaving already? I'll pay my respects to the man, then." Watson goes up to Shanterel and does a bow. "It has been a pleasure being here, and I have rested well. I am humbled by your generosity."

"Wha- But-... Oh, great now i'll have to follow you down there as soon as im done with these things." He says. "You better believe you'll keep the way clear, you hear? Or you will never hear the end of it." He complains half-heartedly. "And yea yea, thank me by punching some bad guy in the face." He adds, waving dismissively at Watson. Then he sets to work disassembling the two crossbows with great haste. "Go on, then."

Nos digs into his meal, and he finds it delicious, but he soon finds himself much more interested in the meal presented to Thunderpaw. He stares at it for a while after half eating his own dish, then grabs one of the fruit soldiers and seems to compare it with what's left of his own meal. Eventually shrugging, he casually throws the fruit back at Thunderpaw's dish and stands up, going to follow Bohw.

"Magic meals, huh? Why didn't I think of that? Now if only that fruit had actually walked around... heheh."

"Just let Mayor deliver it to me!" Bohw yells behind her, she isn't leaving just yet, she's just gonna wait at the entrance and meet the other guy, because this whole place still gives her the creeps. Speaking of Mayor, he has been tossing up between the inscription and the stardust, but finally deciding on the stardust just for the fact that he is curious.

"Oh, alright then... Thank goodness. Anyway, i dont know where that fellow will be down there, but probably somewhere in the center. Yeah, that would be like him as far as i am concerned."

Watson takes a passing glance at Mayor's new sash, looks back to it and then rubs his eyes. He had never really noticed the worn sash before but now it seem to be gleaming with the stardust. "Mayor, that seems like a good addition to your sash. It looks to be shining with a new radiance!"

Watson then walks over towards the exit as he notices Bohw there as well.

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Spoiler

As he works on the bows, Shanterel occasionally makes proceeds on Savannah's meal, preparing a number of potatoes, other vegetables and meatslices of various origins, casting a spell and dumping each into his cauldron separately before inevitably turning back to to bow. Soon enough though does he bring out a small pot, holding it in one hand before casting a spell with the other, levitating part of the contents of the cauldron, most of it a liquid that looks a great deal like gravy, which is curious as the contents of the cauldron look nothing like that. He lowers it into the pot, adding a few things and stirring the stew with a snap of his fingers before placing several slices of bread in a circle around the bottom of the pot, which looks to have been made to support this type of placement. Then he adds a spoon and levitates the pot Savannah-wards. "There. The bread is spiced and the meat and vegetables are properly saturated with gravy to their cores - trust me, there is nothing so boring as potato without sauce - and the bread is well-spiced or so i am told. Now, be on your way, all of you. Once i am done with this here bow, our business should be concluded and you should not see me for a wee long while if all goes well. Good luck, and do try not to get yourselves killed in whatever foolishness you end up in."

Well this is awkward, no-ones said anything here for a week or so now. I think something happened, where both the players were waiting on chim, and chim was waiting on the players and we all just looked at the ground shuffling our feet waiting for something to happen, ha-derp.

That said:

==>

Shanterel directly asked y'all to get a move on

Watson gets his move on, along with everyone else

==>

()

Myra totally gets her move on as well and follows the group underground.

==>

(All aboard the Awkward Train, woo-wooo!)

"..." Savannah cautiously takes the pot and begins eating, following the others. She quietly mumbles her thanks on her way out.

Nos does not, in fact, stop doing what he was already doing and continues to continue to follow Bohw.

((I'm just glad we are once again no longer waiting on everyone in order to proceed with anything.))

yes hello again sorry i had to prep for an exam

Is Masterblade still here, by the way?

He responded to White Dawn, he said he was having real life issues.

The party moves back down the stairs, retracing their steps through the ruins until they return to the trapped room, where they make their way across the last third of the room through various means without incident. Mayor catches up sometime along the way, handing Bohw an intricate and rather strange-looking bow.

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Spoiler

It should be noted that it is made primarily of wood, though, and that the gem from the warmage's crossbow seems to have been split in two and inset on each side of the handle.

Ranger General's Magitech Longbow
Can be charged for one turn in order to unleash a hail of magical arrows on the next, dealing improved area damage and benefiting from The Ol' Brimstone without suffering the Power reduction of the same.
On rolls of pure 20, headshots the target for ludicrous damage and also awards combo points. Combo points only matter to people who are orc killing geniuses.
Hidden effect.
It thrums with old power.

Walking down the corridor, it becomes increasingly obvious that this part of the ruins is somewhat less stable than the rest of the rooms you've explored so far. Soon enough, the corridor forms into an arch up ahead, and the party emerges into a large oval chamber formed by a massive dome rising overhead. Though just as riddled with dirt and soggy patches of water as the rest of the place, it is obvious that this room was once something grand and majestic. The dome is a faded blue color, and looks to be made of crystal or glass, and is heavily discolored by grime and time. Parts of it seem to have fallen in at places, the fragments of the broken dome lying in heaps below, along with generous piles of dirt. Despite the massive size of the dome and the many holes, it doesnt seem as though it breaches the hillside, for no sunlight can be seen - just dirt. It must not always have been so, but perhaps age buried the structure. A small number of crumbling skeletons are scattered at seemingly random throughout the room.

At the center of the chamber is a small alcove, perhaps twenty feet deep. It seems to have been decorated with a maze of varying colors, once, though little more than smears is left now, and the side closest to where you entered from seems to have collapsed entirely into a mess of debris. Two small pillars, one of them fallen, sit near the center of the alcove.

A large, jawning gap in the far northern side of the dome seems to open up into an underground cavern. A faint misty wisp wavers from within. It seems to beckon you towards it.




Stats

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Spoiler
Thunderpaw: 1300/1300
Farstrider: 1000/1000
Fury Comet ready!
Vendetta ready!
Blade of Light ready!
Restoration ready!
Slowfall ready!

Bohw: 830/830
Mayor: 1512/1512
Sabotage Cready!
Selfless ready!
Hellbent ready!
Block ready!

Nos Reaper: 1200/1200
Kill Time: 0, 0
Calming Breath ready!
Overexcited ready!
Madness Dance ready!
Spell Focus ready!

Savannah: 1200/1200
Aromatherapy ready!
Absolute Zero ready!
Parasitic Relationship ready!
Wand of Healing: 23

Watson: 1400/1400,
Wits ready!
Fine Wine ready!
Dragon of the Red Wine ready!
Runeguard ready!
Water Vase: 3 charges

Mael: 1000/1000
Inner Focus ready!

Map:
[SPOILER]

((Gerk, I did not expect the crafting to be that instantaneous, can I have a command that travels back in time a bit here? Screw it, I'm doing it anyway, because it would be out of character for Mayor not to ask.

But that is still a pretty awesome bow, oh my.))

A few moments earlier...

Mayor sits by Shanterel, fully waiting until prying eyes are gone and on their way, watching his craftwork with great interest. But once the instant everyone is out of sight, Mayor quickly pinches one of the spoons between his thumb and middle finger, drawing something in the dirt, ignoring any complaints from the Sage about his spoon, he was always notorious for his whining. He had honestly lost count of the times he got in fights with their master.

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Spoiler

He points at the image, then turns to Shanterel, shrugging to him and trying to get some kind of response. After he is done and has answered Mayor's question, he gladly takes the new bow and runs off to give it to Bohw, giving him a quick hug before he leaves.

...

Bohw looks at her new weapon in awe, she's completely astounded by the size of it, with the weapon being as tall as she is. Given that she is rather short this is understandable, but what really is impressive is the detail, Bohw makes a note that if she ever meets Shanterel again, as curious as he was, to definitely was good at what he did and should probably send him her thanks next time.

She straightens up and stops appreciating the bow for a moment and looks around the room, addressing the others as she does. "Look lively you lot! This looks like a place for an ancient treasure if I ever saw one, look around a bit!"

Bohw herself goes over to examine the gap in the ground for now, just poking her head over the edge to see if there is anything of note down there.

As the group enters, Watson can see what Bohw is talking about.

"Why, yes! And these blue-hue walls can't be there for nothing..."

Watson walks around, examining the walls. He wipes some of the grime and moss off the glass walls with his hands.

"Maybe there are inscriptions or somesuch...", Watson whispers to himself.

Savannah just kind of wanders around the room, mostly ignoring any attempts to converse with her. She does join the search for treasure, however, kicking a few piles of dirt to check for things within them. As she finishes her meal, Savannah decides she's going to keep it, if only so she can give it back later. She squats down to check one of the skeletons for anything interesting.

A few moments earlier...

Mayor sits by Shanterel, fully waiting until prying eyes are gone and on their way, watching his craftwork with great interest. But once the instant everyone is out of sight, Mayor quickly pinches one of the spoons between his thumb and middle finger, drawing something in the dirt, ignoring any complaints from the Sage about his spoon, he was always notorious for his whining. He had honestly lost count of the times he got in fights with their master.

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Spoiler

He points at the image, then turns to Shanterel, shrugging to him and trying to get some kind of response. After he is done and has answered Mayor's question, he gladly takes the new bow and runs off to give it to Bohw, giving him a quick hug before he leaves.

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Spoileryes thems was the kind of thing i was hoping someone would say before walking away but yes you are right there is relevance here.

"Eh, some mountain somewhere or so i hear." He says, in answer to the drawing. "Not that mountain, though, dont worry. Mount Valoth? Something like that. I really wouldnt suggest returning to her, though. Im almost certain she'll have some insane suicide mission ready to hand out like cheap candy to anyone who comes looking. Then again, you're already on such a mission, aint you?"

He shakes his head ruefully as he works on the bow, knitting both wood and magic with his spells. Soon enough he finishes his work, though, and he stares at the completed bow with melancholy. "Well, good luck at making everything better. Give this to the girl, perhaps it will offer some protection. Their artifacts didnt save the others though. I doubt they will in this case either, really."

Slowly, he gets up. He starts packing his backpack, extinguishing the fire with a wave of his hand and picking up his short, knobbly staff. "But we'll try anyway." He says, slinging the backpack over his shoulders. "Because, see, nobody ever gave us the choice not to. I'll be around another time."

He waves, then turns and strides away into the rapidly approaching night, leaving the bow lying there on the age-old cobblestones.

Bohw looks at her new weapon in awe, she's completely astounded by the size of it, with the weapon being as tall as she is. Given that she is rather short this is understandable, but what really is impressive is the detail, Bohw makes a note that if she ever meets Shanterel again, as curious as he was, to definitely was good at what he did and should probably send him her thanks next time.

She straightens up and stops appreciating the bow for a moment and looks around the room, addressing the others as she does. "Look lively you lot! This looks like a place for an ancient treasure if I ever saw one, look around a bit!"

Bohw herself goes over to examine the gap in the ground for now, just poking her head over the edge to see if there is anything of note down there.

As soon as you approach within a few steps of the circular alcove in the middle of the room, the orb of light you summoned earlier winks out and all traces of magic seem to vanish from your new bow. You feel calm, but also hollow. After a moment, you realize why; Your innate magical ability is gone! Horrified, you step away from the alcove, and suddenly your magic returns. It takes somewhat longer, but magic also seems to be flowing back into your bow. With your orb gone, though, it is suddenly incredibly dark in here, as only Watson had another source of light.

Before your magic fled, though, you did note that there seemed to be two pillars down in the alcove, one of them knocked over. Other than that you got a better look at the complex pattern of colors below. It seems to have once been yellow, red, white and blue, though it is very hard to tell the colors apart now, it is a wonder that the paints have stayed for as long as they must have. Other than the beauty the patterns once held, though, it doesnt seem to be significant.

As the group enters, Watson can see what Bohw is talking about.

"Why, yes! And these blue-hue walls can't be there for nothing..."

Watson walks around, examining the walls. He wipes some of the grime and moss off the glass walls with his hands.

"Maybe there are inscriptions or somesuch...", Watson whispers to himself.

Wiping the grime away proves harder than such, you have to scrub diligently to just get a little of the caked dirt off. You do manage to clean off a small space, though, restoring some of the wall's shine. It doesnt seem to hold any signs or inscriptions, but you can tell that it must have been magnificent once. Up close, you also notice that a small railing passes all the way around the edge of the room, though it is broken in places. You see faint signs of gild in places, but most of it is just a dull and rusted metal, now.

Savannah just kind of wanders around the room, mostly ignoring any attempts to converse with her. She does join the search for treasure, however, kicking a few piles of dirt to check for things within them. As she finishes her meal, Savannah decides she's going to keep it, if only so she can give it back later. She squats down to check one of the skeletons for anything interesting.

Poking through the dirt piles reveals a variety of metal objects, most of them so far gone that you cant even judge what they originally were, though you do find what looks to be an encrusted belt knife. You have better luck with the skeletons, though, as a little careful searching reveals old coins on the ground near some of them. They are badly tarnished, but nothing that cannot be fixed with a little magic, so they should still be worth something. All in all you find 47 gold coins.

Also of note is that there are very few plants in the vicinity, so you are rather magically restricted at the moment.

Savannah picks up the belt knife on her way over to the small pile of coins. She sets the knife down and sits next to the skeleton. "Sorry buddy, but I don't think you'll be using these any time soon." Carefully prying its bone fingers from the final coin, she counts them up. Forty seven. Not bad. She uses what little magic still lingers to try and clear the taint from the coins. Savannah then turns her attention to the new blade, using her knife to try and scrape the solid grime from its surface.

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Spoiler Also the 'it' in my last post was supposed to mean the pot. I'm not sure what I did there.

((wait, what light source does Watson have?))

As Watson eagerly wiped at the wall, he felt weighed down a bit so he placed his armor back in his Hat along with the Vase and instead took out the Greatsword. He rested the spear close to him against the wall.

He begins hacking away at the wall.

You had an orb of light. I think. Someone summoned an extra orb of light at some point and i think it was Watson. Maybe. might also have been Nos though.

Anyway you cant just unequip a fullplate offhandedly. You can magically store it in hammerspace or hat space or secret scrap town or whatever, but youll have to unequip it it first and trust me getting into and out of most heavy armors takes time.

That said, you swing the blade at the dome, shearing through it in a shower of cracking glass splinters and striking into the dirt beyond. Some of the glass shards slice your skin as they cascade to the ground, dealing 150 damage. The dome trembles ominously, as though the rest of it might cave in, but it seems to hold for now. There doesnt seem to be anything behind the wall except for dirt, not even any significant plantlife.

@SupahKihven

You cleanse the coins and knife easily enough. The knife looks like a fairly standard belt knife. Most people carry them around with them all the time, using them for eating and whenever they come in handy. Odds are that everyone is carrying one already. Well Nos might not be but thats because he is Nos.

Just to be sure, you also cast a small detect magic spell. It is perfectly ordinary. There are three other sources of magic nearby, though, beyond yourself and the others. Theres a strong magical power coming from the gap in the dome to the north, a moderate, sort of muffled source in the center of the room, and a faint signal down the passage to the east, as if it is far away.

As the cave ceiling rumbles. Watson says, "Well.. I'm not doing that again", as he picks glass shards out of his skin. Watson begrudgingly puts his armor back on...

Savannah shrugs, slipping the coins and belt knife into her pocket and stands up. A quiet rumble reverberates through the dome and Savannah shoots an accusatory glance at Watson. She then heads over to the middle of the room, checking for the source of the foreign magic there.