garmr
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King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 7, 2020 22:34:38 GMT
"If you simply wish to ascend, then the closest route I know is Saint Seymour. I believe it is possible to climb his stalk at least one level further up. But of course, he is guarded by those mysterious cubes. There is also a mine cart track that leads upward by an unknown distance. "However, I believe it is not so easy to simply walk out of this place. There are others in this dungeon who have explored much further than us, but never escaped. Thus I believe it is important to seize wealth and power, to strengthen our ability to survive the ascent. Such is my philosophy, in any case." By the way, what does Joffi look like? Henry XIV is a man made entirely of porcelain, with a regal face and a purple robe. He is armed with a large stonemason's hammer, the traditional weapon of the porcelain doppelgangers.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 8, 2020 8:37:57 GMT
Slightly ajar door: Contains a large but sparse throne room, with scratches and scuff marks all on the floor, perhaps signs of a recent-ish combat?
The pebble sinks into the shimmer, then bounces right back out again, to clatter on the floor completely unharmed.
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 8, 2020 13:28:59 GMT
Joffi is a middle aged woman. She has bright blonde buzz cut hair. She is wearing a traditional garb of the eastern Mintanlan monastic orders and a necklace of stringed knuckle bones. Root of her nose is pierced with a mithril needle. Gray pin pong sized stone is whizzing around her head and she is carrying some sort of brass propeller contraption on her back. Pieces of metal scrap are hanging from the propeller bundled into musty rags. You can see her body is in pretty good shape, her sleeveless shirt revealing muscular arms.
"Fair. Let's explore this area first. We can think about how to kick beholder's ass once we get back to the cell block."
I step inside the throne room and examine it. Is there an actual throne in there? Any other furniture? Any other exits?
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Post by Spwack on Oct 11, 2020 5:53:38 GMT
There is a large block of carved black granite, that looks exceptionally uncomfortable. However, you can see that there is a small hidden door in the side of the throne that you would've been unlikely to find, had it not been left ajar. From what you can see, the cramped and un-adorned tunnel behind it leads down, perhaps a long way down.
((It's a route to the floor below, is what I'm getting at))
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 11, 2020 8:43:04 GMT
"I don't feel much like going down but the other way seem to be barred by some magic wall." Joffi sighs and heads through the door, lowering hear head trying not to hit it into the ceiling.
"Perhaps this is some sort of escape route, seeing as it was part of a throne."
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 11, 2020 8:55:14 GMT
"It would be useful to find a route back to Cell Block Zero that doesn't involve malevolent cubes or bottomless chasms. Let's take a look."
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Post by Spwack on Oct 12, 2020 7:41:25 GMT
Into the tunnel! It's slow and cramped and there are unpleasantly steep sections with very little in the way of stairs, but it's uneventful. Probably:
rQzEvoKa1d6
It is indeed uneventful. You push your way through a stone slab at the far end, that swings open creakily at the touch. It shuts behind the last person through, and you'd be hard pressed to see it even knowing it's there. That said, you'd be able to pry it open again if you want to go back up that way.
You stand in a hallway, not too dissimilar to the one the floor above. To the right (south) comes a faint sensation of warmth, to the left, more stone.1d6
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 12, 2020 21:12:47 GMT
"My map is not precise enough to be sure, but I believe that heading south is our best chance of returning to Cell Block Zero. Once we get our bearings we can return to explore further north."
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Post by Spwack on Oct 13, 2020 2:56:01 GMT
Heading south, the sensation of warmth builds and builds, and you can see a gleaming and leaping red light growing larger.
The source of the light and heat is a silently flickering wall of flame, stretching up to the ceiling of the chamber you are now standing, and filling it's entire width as well. You can see charred and melted bits of junk scattered on the floor, as well as a couple smashed and blackened pots.
What do you do?
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 14, 2020 0:57:13 GMT
"Bah. Nothing is ever simple in this accursed labyrinth."
I get as close as I can to the wall of flame, and move back and forth to try and judge how thick it is. Does it look like I could dive through it and survive? I'll toss a piece of junk through the flames as well.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 14, 2020 7:19:34 GMT
Roughly a foot thick. Jumping through would certainly crack your glaze and set you alight, but you'd probably survive? The bit of junk clatters to the floor on the other side, you can hear it hiss. This is hot.
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 15, 2020 22:14:39 GMT
"In the direst of emergencies, we can probably pass through this obstacle. Good to keep in mind. Let us proceed northward for now."
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 16, 2020 16:19:23 GMT
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Honestly I'd rather risk getting past the giant cubes."
I agree, let's head north.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 18, 2020 3:06:43 GMT
The north hallway grows cold once more. You pass the hidden passageway all the way back up to the floor above, then stand in a square chamber. It is simple, dividing two halls, one leading north-west, the other north-east. More concerningly, the right and left walls are marked with bold white paint:
Left, closest to the north-west hall: "LIFE".
Right, to the north-west: "DEATH".
What do you do?
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bluewolf
Junior Member
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 18, 2020 9:27:08 GMT
"Life sounds more promising."
Joffi heads northwest, as careful as ever, stopping at first sign something might be off (change in to coloration of the stone, blood or soot on the floor or the walls, etc.).
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Post by Spwack on Oct 19, 2020 10:02:20 GMT
Taking the LIFE path, you only walk a short distance before stopping dead. Before you lies a truly magnificent sight: dozens, no, hundreds of gently shifting orbs of coloured light, every hue of purple and red and blue and green. They drift like jellyfish above and around you, flitting between the stone columns reaching up onto the haze. There's a certain air to the silence, a tension in the air, as if a loud noise has just faded away moments ago.
You can see an exit on the far end of the hall, past the columns and the orbs.
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 20, 2020 5:40:10 GMT
How packed are they. Would it be difficult to cross the room without touching them?
In either case I'll try to inch into the room, trying to stay away from them as much as possible and see if they react in any way.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 20, 2020 9:29:52 GMT
They don't react at all, and it takes a little bit of manoeuvring but you can avoid them all if you are paying attention. If you were, say, fleeing an enemy? Much more difficult. But just walking is fine.
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garmr
Full Member
King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 20, 2020 21:21:36 GMT
I'm going to prod one of the spheres with my extendable pole.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 22, 2020 3:32:38 GMT
The sphere glows brighter and bobbles away, spinning a little bit and floating in a spiral. The light inside it varies from light-blue to dark-blue randomly, but after a moment it settles and keeps drifting.
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 22, 2020 19:25:12 GMT
"Phew. Looks safe enough. Let's move across."
I'll move across at slightly faster pace. Not literally plowing through the orbs but I'll just plink them away with the back of my hand if I can't easily dodge them.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 23, 2020 1:59:29 GMT
You can head through easily, the coloured orbs bobbing about gently above your heads.
Down the next hallway, you can see your path won't be so easy: cracked masonry and rubble have fallen down to fill the room ahead and spilled out into the narrow hall. Are you going to clamber over it?
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 25, 2020 21:12:57 GMT
Yeah, let's try to climb over it. Are there any clues to what happened here? What does the ceiling look like after it's caved in?
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Post by Spwack on Oct 26, 2020 3:33:49 GMT
It’s hard to tell, but you can see a whole lot of weird cracks scrawled across the ceiling in every which way. Very narrow cracks, but with so many of them, perhaps that is what brought the ceiling down?
You’re scrambling up and over the rocks, and you can see an exit to the east. There’s a scent of stagnant water and pulped leaves coming from it.
Encounter check: gAk5beTN“1d6”
(Down half a torch, no other change)“1d6”
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 27, 2020 20:11:37 GMT
I'll head towards the exit and see what it's all about.
I wonder how much damage we're seeing is randomly generated and how much was done by previous players...
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 27, 2020 21:59:38 GMT
I'll take that half-torch out of my inventory and follow after Joffi.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 28, 2020 3:24:04 GMT
Scrambling down the scree of rubble, you pass through an archway and step immediately into two inches of thick mud. Your torch illuminates a plethora of bright green plants, thick roots squirming in the mire, and some even embedded halfway up the wall. They all have bright red and purple flowers several handspans wide, and look, well, vibrant and healthy. There are several pools of muck here and there in this cave chamber, as well as a bunch of nooks and crannies that might be further exits, it's hard to see with all the greenery draped over it.
What do you do?
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Oct 28, 2020 20:36:09 GMT
Joffi moves forward trying brush against as few plants as possible. Especially the flowers.
"This looks sorta similar to where the frogs were. You think we could be close?"
If simply taking a closer look doesn't reveal an exit, Joffi tries to gently part some of the plants and explore largest nook she can find.
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garmr
Full Member
King Henry XIV
Posts: 227 Likes: 31
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Post by garmr on Oct 29, 2020 4:13:15 GMT
"Hmmm. According to my map, we should be a good way north of the frog swamp. Though I admit I have not been keeping exact measurements of the distances we have travelled."
I'll follow after Joffi through the plants.
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Post by Spwack on Oct 29, 2020 8:31:29 GMT
The frog area is much more open and loud with the "woe is me" cries of the frogs. This is somewhere else for sure.
Avoiding brushing the plants and flowers is more difficult than you'd expect. Then you realise, that's because the flowers and plants are leaning towards you...
You can see what looks like a path out, to the south-east, but there sure are a lot of roots on the ground. What do you do?
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