Difference between revisions of "AChapter 3"

Revision as of 22:14, 19 June 2012

The Sewer system beneath Rabanastre is old, it is also large, ten foot wide vaulted stone tunnels, supported every thirty feet by huge fluted buttresses. There two feet walkways on either side of the 6 foot channel which flows with crisp, crystal clear water! Which is a bit odd it being a sewer and all but hey the imps have been at work for a long time and its not like the city above is lived in any more. The ladder the party climbed down ends at a small platform at the end of the tunnel, the light comes from white globes attached to each of the buttresses and the tunnel heads off under the city ahead of them!

Lee steps away from the ladder, looking around, up and down the lit underground tunnel, and lets out a low whistle, "Well now... Nicest sewer I've ever seen in m'life, strooth." Making room for the others, he looks up, "So, which way we s'posed t'go, again?" There is only one direction from the base of the ladder, the tunnel is a blank wall behind them and then stretches out into the distance ahead in the directions of the ruins.

Once everyone is down in the tunnel, Ainsley digs in her robes, and produces... that shotgun she got ages ago from that adventure she went on for Nitro. She checks it, and then sets out to head down the tunnel, following the only direction they can go. "It occurs to me," she mentions, quietly, "That this is the second underground tunnel that we have gone in for this whole mess, and we all know how fun the last time was." Hint: It wasn't fun at all, at least by the utter displeasure in her voice from remembering their first meeting with Savourn. "And there are supposed to be fiends down here, too. Tch..." She glances back at Lee, smiles, and then the rest of the party with more uncertainty.

Marduke steps off the ladder and onto the walkway. Stretching out and tapping his staff into the ground he hmms a moment, "it is perhaps, we shall see what this ones holds for us." shrugging his shoulders and glancing down the tunnels and hmms a moment, "Well shall we?" Patting at his belt to make sure everything is still secure and nods.

The tunnel heads along for about ten minutes, there are no exits or openings until they reach a crossroad. It is quite large, four tunnels coming together each one barred by a large grill except for the one they just walked out of. The walkways are all connected by small stone bridges that also arch out to a pedestal in the centre of the water-way which holds a plinth.

Lee nods to Marduke, "Aye, let's." After the bit of walking, as the crossroad is reached, he hmms and looks around, eyeing the large grates baring further progress, then the pedestal out in the middle, "Blocked passages, would make no sense for there t'not be a way past given what we've heard o'this as a route of entry." He looks at the other two, hooking his thumbs in his belt, "What think y'both?"

Ainsley takes a look around at the various grills, frowning at the sight. She takes note of the way the crossroad is shaped, with the pedestal in the center one would think, so naturally it's got her attention. She looks for a way to get up to the pedestal, and see if the plinth holds any clues or if it's just a fancy decoration piece. She looks down at the water as it flows, as well, squinting momentarily, as she tries the bridges. She frowns at the bridges, not trusting the structural integrity for a second, careful to check for cracks and loose bits so she doesn't end up plummeting into the water flow below.

Ainsley steps out onto the bridge heading toward the pedestal in the centre. Despite looking for signs of wear or tear she sadly doesn't spot the switch which she steps on. There is a very loud "CLICK" And the pedestal shudders, the plinth sinking into the floor and a soft alarm sounding as the gate to the left unlocks and all the stone bridges start to retract back into the stone work. Even as this is happening there is a rumbling, roaring sound and a torrent of water races down the tunnel opposite the one that just opened and slams into the party. It is a wall of crisp, cold water that picks them all up and carries them down the tunnel. When it finally subsides everyone is very wet and lying in a large pool of water, a natural depression catching them and holding them as the torrent subsides, leaving them in another crossing point. This time it only has two exits and a plinth in the centre again. ) [Spoofed By: Silvante]

"I might remind you all you picked the path of puzzles and traps. I would go so far as to say that the center here holds the puzzle or clues we need to solve, along with a few traps here and there..." Cutting off as he blinks eyes looking to Ainsley, "Oh dear." Is all he offers as he clutches his staff tightly so he doesn't lose it. He guggles a bit as the water subsides and moves to sit up, "Everybody ok?" Eyes looking towards the center and sighs, "I suspect we will get washed away a few times more." Eyes landing on Ainsley.

Lee leans up against a wall as Ainsley moves to investigate the center pedestal. The click gets a reaction similar to Marduke's, and he blinks, though he doesn't get anything out beyond a brief yell of surprise and warning as the water slams him and carries him away! Once deposited, he coughs and sputters, regaining his feet. Drenched to the bone, he relieves himself of his cloak, wringing excess water from it as best he can before stuffing it into his equally soaked pack; his hat is missing, though, and with the pack back on, he looks around to see if it was deposited anywhere nearby, while stepping over to where Ainsley ended up to offer her help getting back on her feet, "I'm beginnin' t'not like the sense o'humor of whoever made these traps... I'll be thankful if bein' swept away by cold water's th'worst we'll 'ave t'deal with." Then, to Ainsley, "Y'all right, luv?"

Ainsley felt her heart leap into her throat, metaphorically speaking, when she stepped on the switch, and all of her feathers fluffed up again. "Oops--" is all she manages before she is swept off with the others, and lands, drenched by the water, shivering and looking miserable. She gets up slowly, and with Lee's help which she appreciates with a smile, probably quite sore after that whole mess, frowning and muttering once she's up. She checks around for her shotgun, having dropped it when she got swept off. "No," she answers Lee, the chill from the water evident in her voice, "No I'm not alright at all." Lizard-kin, probably made her extra grumpy getting her all cold like that. She puts a hand on her hip, and then sighs, trying to step toward the new plinth, taking meticulous steps in case there's another trap. "At least... at least the water's clean..." Leetle pages, "Oh poop... back in a bit." to you.

click, this one is muffled as Ainsley starts forward and stands on something under the water. There is a rumbling hiss and the plinth sinks into the ground with a clunk and then silence. The gate leading forward is locked, the only way to go is to walk back up the two hundred or so yards of tunnel back to the original cross-roads...

Marduke leans into his staff watching Ainsley make her way towards the next pedistal. "You are on a pilgrams path. They are meant to sort out and deture the weak. There is a reason there are three choices, each one represents a different set of skills to..." Cutting off again as he grabs his staff again waiting. Watching the other tunnel lock close he offers a soft sigh. "Skills to test. Lee and myself will keep a eye on the path ahead between us both we should be able to find something, hopefully." sighing softly, "lets get walking its a bit back to where we started."

The trek back to the original cross roads takes a good fifteen minutes and there are no walk-ways to stroll along so the whole journey has to be made in knee deep crystal clear spring water. When they arrive back at the crossroads they find the original plinth has risen up again and three gates are closed. The two they haven't been down and the one leading to the entrance ladder...

Lee blinks and braces as well at the sound of another click, but relaxes again a moment later when nothing more untoward than the gate forward locking itself happens as a result. With a sigh of relief, he resumes searching for his hat, keeping a careful eye on his footing lest there be more than one trap to trigger, collecting it and Ainsley's weapon when he finds them, then stepping up beside Ainsley, a hand on her shoulder, "Well, nothin' for it, just have'ta go back an' try again; an' th'more eyes, th'better, no doubt." After the walk back to the first room, he climbs up onto the first path-ledge he comes to, after checking it for switches of course, getting just a bit paranoid in that regard, offering Ainsley a hand up after, smiling, "Shall we try again?"

Ainsley hears a second click. She frowns and watches the plinth descend and the gate close. She stares for a few moments, and just lets the water-soaked feathers fall back down over her face. She looks very unhappy now, though this isn't a huge surprise. She only looks down at her feet /after/ this, and then turns to start walking without another word. She doesn't even talk on the way back, too busy tromping through the water. By the time they get back, she looks tired and droopy. She's not the most durable creature. She allows Lee to help her up, glancing off toward Marduke with some mild concern. "Are you going to help, or are you going to keep talking about how this is all a test? Because I already know it's a test. Spirits do that. It's their 'thing,'" she says, with an air quotes motion. She looks around for anymore traps before she does anything else, of course, not exactly in a rush to cause another fifteen minute long trek through water.

Marduke raises his eyebrows to Ainsley, "Seems you were only partially listening to what I was saying Ainsley." His voice good natured as he moves out of the water and onto the path. Kneeling low he looks over the platform trying to spot any of the traps, "As I sugested me and Lee take the lead to keep a eye out for traps." Tapping his staff gently before him to see if any of the stones sound different. "The Imps are rather talented at these sorts of things." A thoughtful hmm as he slowly makes his way forward keeping his eyes out.

Despite his brave words Marduke has to be grabbed several times by Ainsley and Lee and stopped from stepping forward. Now they are activly searching and being aware Ainsley is having good luck at locating the tripstones and pressure plates that would set off the flood trap. It is Lee however who is the true master at spotting the traps. It isn't just the floor, it is the ceiling too, there are subtle shades in the tone of the bricks that can cause things to happen if you don't follow the precise meandering route around the bridges, crossing back and forth to the centre and back before the trio are stood before the small plinth. It has four green triangular buttons inset into the top, each one connected by a maze of twisting channels. Set in the centre of the channel is a metal spiggot, it looks like someone will have to guide it through the shifting channels to one of the buttons to activate it. A puzzle of the mind and concentration as there are bound to be dead-ends and more traps.

Lee relaxes from hyper-vigilance with a sigh as he comes before the plinth with the others, smiling, "There, that weren't so bad..." Giving the other two a smile, he turns his gaze to the plinth, eying the convoluted display, "Looks complicated... Bound t'make me cross-eyed jus' lookin' at it." Still, he tries to study it without touching as he asks, "Which o'those buttons y'think we need ta press? An' which of us'll give it a go?"

Ainsley lets out a sigh of relief as they progress past the tripstones and pressure plates and all that badness, and shoots an idle look at Marduke. "I was just being too enthusiastic about it, I guess," she says, more pleasantly. Then she takes a moment to examine this puzzle, tilting her head lightly. She pushes the damp feathers back again and sticks her nose as close as possible to examine all the details without, well, bumping anything. "Mmh. I can give it a try," she suggests after Lee's words, "Unless Marduke has any objections?" She quirks a brow over at him, smiling lightly. She spares a lot of time just examining it, not wanting to have to figure it out through trial and error, because that would probably mean getting washed away again. Marduke gets pulled here and there with a grunt, "I never said I was the best at spoting traps either!" in slight protest after one grab. As they make their way to the puzzle he looks it over and hmms a moment, "All yours this is more your forte then it is mine honestly. Not to bad at puzzles though." shrugging his shoulders as he considers it looking it over with a hmm.

Ainsley, at one point, hits a dead end in the puzzle, and a wash of water sprays down on the whole party. They don't get swept away this time, sure, but it's bitterly cold and she has to use some fire magic to warm herself up before continuing; she's very good with fire magic, coincidentally, so warmth is easy to manage. Eventually, she figures it out, and the button to progress forward lights up green. And she presses the button, assuming that's what she has to do to activate the mechanism to open the grate and progress down that path. "If this is this bad," she mentions, "I'm glad we didn't take the other paths or I would've been eaten or fallen down and broken several bones by now. Bloody puzzle is a brain-twister."

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