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Post by Spwack on Aug 12, 2021 1:54:01 GMT
You go to pick up a metal box with a cross on it, a first-aid kit by the looks of it. It flips up out of the room and lands in your hand, but it feels rather lighter than you'd expect for a metal container of that size, even if it's only got bandages and other light objects inside it.
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Post by red_kangaroo on Aug 12, 2021 7:13:15 GMT
"Hmm, it feels way too light. More like a prop than the real thing."
I step back from the hole and peek into the box.
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Post by Spwack on Aug 13, 2021 2:55:41 GMT
The box is empty. You faintly feel weird skittering feelings tippy-tap over your hands...
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Post by red_kangaroo on Aug 13, 2021 6:30:02 GMT
I drop the box and start to wipe my hands repeatedly.
"Oh gods above, no. Not another invisible creeper."
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 14, 2021 15:37:48 GMT
“Quick have the sprites sprinkle some spot where you feel the crawling.” (That should reveal an invisible creature)
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Post by Spwack on Aug 15, 2021 4:48:54 GMT
The soot sprites flutter over to Jax's hands and scatter themselves around. Most of the "whatever's" are already being smushed by Jax's motions, and a few extra are caught before they escape up sleeves. However, quite a few of the soot sprites are pinned down and... eaten??
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 15, 2021 9:49:55 GMT
Yeah I’m going to close the hatch.
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Post by red_kangaroo on Aug 16, 2021 12:19:42 GMT
I keep rubbing any spots with skittering feelings until they go away.
"Well, I could probably pick up more items from down there and pull them through a torch flame to get rid of these invisible things, I guess. Or we can have a look at the other hatches."
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 16, 2021 18:42:05 GMT
I’m gonna open a different hatch. Phykalla may be trapped in one.
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Post by Spwack on Aug 18, 2021 4:17:13 GMT
The hatch is now closed, but you still feel the warm eyes of the nurse on you...
The skittering feelings go away, mostly, and you're pretty sure what's left is just your own overactive imagination.
Hatch two seems... stuck? Locked? It doesn't feel like it's stuck, because you're have at least a little bit of give or a squeal of rusty metal. It doesn't feel locked, because you'd be able to rattle it around. It just feels like there's a strong force pulling at it from the other side.
Hatch three swings open easily. Inside, you can see a few things - the main one is an immense metal barrel (?) heavily reinforced, with a few magical glyphs carved into it. It also has dozens of chunky locks spaced around the rim, sealing it shut. The barrel is big, much bigger than a human. You can also see a pile of black metal armour, a shiny shield with an odd handle, and an upside-down treasure chest with tiny stumpy legs.
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Post by red_kangaroo on Aug 18, 2021 7:18:09 GMT
I try to tele-grab the armour. This time, I'm not touching it, I will drop it on the floor next to the hatch.
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 18, 2021 7:24:55 GMT
“This is phykalla’s stuff!” The shield and armor and such. Hmmmmm but where is the butler? I heard he is a demon barely bound to her service while she still lives. “Could she be in the barrel? Or perhaps other hatches?”
I search through my belongings and dust off the knuckle bones of andsaca. With a kiss I roll them.
[6TAoVByo1d6]1d6
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 18, 2021 7:27:13 GMT
“Is phykalla in this metal barrel?” I ask the bones
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 18, 2021 7:29:02 GMT
Does my tremorsense indicate any movement inside the hatch or near us that we could not see?
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Post by Spwack on Aug 19, 2021 9:43:06 GMT
The knucklebones come up with: [SIGNS POINT TO YES]
The helmet rises smoothly out of the hole in the ground, and drops neatly next to it.
Blerble: Your tremorsense wasn't giving you any movement in or near the hatch... until the helmet comes out of it. As it passes roughly the halfway mark, you feel/hear a faint ringing sound, like a far-away bell.
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 19, 2021 12:37:29 GMT
“I think it was trapped, I sense bells going off. Let’s hurry. Phykalla is in the metal bin.”
I will try to read the runes. I have a sneaking suspicion they were carved from the inside by alchfrith de ventral. He would want phykalla to escape but he probably wants the people who open it to die in an explosion.
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Post by Spwack on Aug 21, 2021 5:16:37 GMT
You're not exactly sure what the runes do, but they look more like glyphs of protection and hardness. And is that the symbol for "no user serviceable parts inside"?
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 21, 2021 14:16:39 GMT
Alrighty I will cast cantankerous knock on the bin
I will use my natural trickle of power as a demigod Say the rhyme “metal bin hard as rock, it is time you unlock!” And focus it by having my mage hand Terrance knock on the bin.
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Post by Spwack on Aug 22, 2021 5:59:57 GMT
As you channel the power into your Knock spell through Terrance, you can feel and see the runes on the metal bin start to light up in response. Quite a few of them glow cherry red and start smoking a little, but there are plenty left that haven't even been activated. You'll need a lot more juice to make a (magical) dent in these protections.
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 22, 2021 12:14:49 GMT
We could try picking and breaking some of the manual locks. Do they look like they need keys? Maybe we could find keys in nearby hatches.
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Post by Spwack on Aug 22, 2021 12:40:15 GMT
The bell is still ringing, and you can feel strange vibrations in the metal. Eventually, all of you can feel the distant vibrations, but to you Blerble, it sounds like a... confused earthquake?
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 22, 2021 22:30:02 GMT
Let me know if i start hearing it closer.
I’m going to start setting out my stuff and making a mess of it. Want it to look like a picnic of a toddler. Gonna throw some of phykalla’s stuff in as well.
“I think the fork goes on the top and the spoon goes over it right?!”
Any other ideas how to summon a demonic butler?
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Post by frankiestein on Aug 23, 2021 2:41:50 GMT
"The best way to make anything demonic appear is for you to be desperate. They'll likely appear as this thing comes upon us. Meanwhile, might I offer you a bottle of Wizard Blood? Seems you are struggling there with the locks and a friend of yours is a friend of mine."
I have the following for the potion: 'Wizard Blood is good for all sortsa things, if it's treated right. Good for, like, recharging wands 'n stuff.'
Is this barrel out of the hole? I don't think so. "Can you lift it with telekenesis??" If they cannot, I'll jump in valorously and try to lift them out.
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 23, 2021 3:16:10 GMT
Probs too heavy for tele but yeah I will try to douse myself in wizards blood to boost the spell.
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Post by Spwack on Aug 25, 2021 5:44:53 GMT
Blerbles: It's definitely coming closer. Looking at the mess of cutlery you've made, you feel a faint presence... but nothing else. Something is wrong. The Wizard's Blood would definitely be another source of power to help with the spell, using a dose (third) of the substance will probably help about as much as the full bottle, but there were quite a few runes still not even activating when you cast that spell last, let alone being broken or burning out.
Hurricane: The "barrel" is twice your height and would probably weigh several times your own body weight. Plus, it's hard to move around down in the metal pit. Maybe if you had a block and tackle and perhaps several people pulling at the same time?
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 25, 2021 13:07:40 GMT
I will transfer the knock spell to unlock the luggage. Maybe there is something inside of it that can help us.
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Post by Spwack on Aug 28, 2021 3:36:49 GMT
((It's at this point I realise how incredibly complicated Phykalla's character sheet was. How about you pick 5 things from the list that were stored in the chest, which pops open easily as you apply the Knock to it))
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 28, 2021 12:22:51 GMT
Phykalla was never able to open the luggage, it was magically closed (hence a strong knock hopefully working) I am curious what would be stored in a very locked luggage on legs.
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Post by wingilbear on Aug 28, 2021 12:24:54 GMT
Do the locks on the metal bin look like they could be melted with acid without melting the bin?
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Post by Spwack on Aug 30, 2021 1:04:58 GMT
The luggage wriggles it's little legs frantically as the blood-boosted Knock spell kicks in. A few moments later, it rolls back and open, revealing the contents: a torn and tattered robe, scorched, bloodstained, it might have been purple once but it's hard to tell. Then the scent hits you, a pungent aroma of ancient magick like nothing you've experienced, with a bizarre curdled reek to it.
The bloodstains still look fresh. You've got a feeling they've always looked fresh.
There might be other things in the chest, but you'd have to touch the robe in order to figure out what.
The rumbling has gotten louder, you can all feel it through your feet now.
Regarding acid and locks, the barrel would be fine, but it's likely the magical protections would kick in.
((I wonder if past Spwack had a specific idea of what was in the luggage. Oh well! Do you remember where Phykalla got it from?))
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