Chapter 25
The party have descended into the Tomb of Borneth, the stairs they are on illuminated only by the lanterns they are carrying. After about five minutes the stairs end and they emerge into a large round chamber. A raised lip in the centre the room has the beginnings of a staircase winding down into a shaft of some sort but after 3 feet the stairs and the entire shaft down is blocked by a huge stone disc. The walls of the chamber offer some clues, there are 6 other doorways beyond the one they emerged from, each one set into one wall of the Heptaganol chamber. One of those doorways is open and the others are covered by metallic bars blocking the way into the passage beyond.
Going mostly by the lights provided by the others, Thaylorn stays relatively close to the group most of the time as they enter within the Tomb. Arriving within the central chamber would allow for the Imp to look around the place with curiosity, especially towards the central stairs that seem rather sealed off. "I assume we're going to have to be going this way eventually." He murmurs before turning his attention towards the one doorway that is unblocked.
Mordecai stops in that central room, and takes his time to look around... His gaze eventually falling on that sole, unblocked doorway. And he doesn't seem all too happy at the sight, his mouth tugging down a moment, before he nods some at Thaylorn and rumbles, "Aye... And it has the smell of trap all over. As in, it looks like they're leading us in a certain direction." Looking back at the others then, especially at Raziel, to wait and see what they might want to do. Marduke is following and holding up one of the lights he is carrying to see the way. A touch of a fown as the enter the seven sided chamber and glances around. "More puzzles, I wish I could say I was surprised." A touch of a faint sigh and a glance to the doors and nodding with Thaylorn, "Not much of a choice right now really." Frowning at the mention of trap and then towards the center, "Though that direction seems a bit to obvious." Looking over to Raziel.
Raziel looks around the room while his mage light floats above him. Quietly the man looks around before a slight frown curls down the corner of his lips. "Apparently there's little choice, however I'd prefer not to get everyone trapped.." He considers for a few moments and then walks to the doorway, peering inside while his magelight glides ahead of him and rises up to brighten the room as he looks for immediate traps and then steps in, only if he doesn't see any.
Raziel's mage-light bobs ahead of him and the man follows it inside, the room opens out into a small room. There are several metallic switches on the wall in a cross-shaped set of grooves. The north and south groves are silver and the east and west ones are blue. The levers are set wrong, North and South are currently blue levers and east and west are silver levers. It looks like a relatively simple puzzle.
"How does it look in there, Raziel?" Thaylorn chimes up as Raziel takes a peek into the room, moving to follow after the other mage so he can get a good look himself. When the light illuminates what's within he let's out a thoughtful hmm "Maybe something about this will unlock the stairway." He remarks as he moves into the room himself to get a better look at the contraptions.
Mordecai watches as the next room is explored, and keeps one hand hooked behind his belt, right near his holstered revolver... Looking concentrated for a few long moments as Raziel and Thaylorn are in there. But as nothing untoward seems to happen just yet, he decides to step closer himself, though not entering just yet, and looks inside, rumbling, "What'd you find?" Letting his eyes flick over those levers as the other two inspect them, and then adding, "... Worth a shot."
Marduke isn't long in coming up to get a quick glance of the room and a thoughtful look crossing his face. Moving back towards the center he shakes his head slowly, "If each room is a puzzle like this to unlock the center, that means she has already past it or bypassed it." Glancing around and crossing his arms, "Well lets get solving."
Raziel ponders and starts to reach for a lever before he pauses and looks back at Thaylorn, "just a puzzle, it seems pretty obvious though." He looks at Marduke then at Mordecai, noting the mane stayed outside the room. There's a bit of a nod before he flicks the switches and waits to see what happens.
It looks easy sure but well Thaylorn and Mordecai are not much use and Raziel isn't making much head-way. Sliding the levers from one side to another is not an easy thing to do as it turns out you can only slide one lever down a groove at any one time! Back and forth they shuttle until Marduke makes a break through and is able to show how to shift the levers one at a time in a strange series of moves which is hard to follow but soon enough he has them all lined up in the correct positions and a large rumbling noise echoes from out in the main chamber....
With the puzzle solved Thaylorn merely gives Marduke a 'good job' look, having been unable to really follow exactly what he moved around with the puzzle. "Hopefully that got the staircase open." He remarks while moving back out towards the main chamber to see what might have changed within the room, his hand remaining upon the hilt of his blade in case anything might be waiting for them now.
Mordecai watches Marduke solve the puzzle, before his attention is caught by that rumbling sound right behind him, the man turning to see what it might have been, and his first thought to move to that central staircase. Slowly drawing his revolver as he goes, likely having decided the risk of being possibly deafened might be worth it if something nasty shows itself that needs blasting.
"In all likelyness Thaylorn, it just opened one of the other doors to another challenge of some sort." Marduke offers stepping and and reaching up to rub his head, "I swear I have seen a puzzle like that somewhere. Might of been in a book." Eyes looking around the room for the doors first without bothering to check the staircase just yet.
Raziel steps back after his first attempts meet with little success. The man lifts his brow then as Marduke figures out the trick to it and the man exhales, "puzzles.." He nods to the summoner and then returns to the main room to find out what has opened up now. "Possibly in a book, the ancients seem to have some penchant for traps, puzzles and other safeguards to their tombs.." Out in the main room it is as Marduke suggested, the entrance to one of the other radial chambers has opened up but the large disc in the centre of the room has also rolled back revealing the stairs down. Another feet of staircase then another large stone disc. Peering through the doorway that has been opened reveals a short corridor, about 12 feet long, narrow and made of stone and at the far end a single switch that is ready to be pressed.
"So I assume there's going to be as many discs as there are side rooms here." Thaylorn remarks upon examining the main stairway and the second disc that has been revealed below it before he turns his attention back towards the newely opened door and the abruptly ending hallway beyond "Not much of a puzzle there, most likely a trap of some sort."
Mordecai arches his brow as he peeks into the staircase, and then nods at Thaylorn, slipping his revolver back into its holster as he remarks, "Aye. Seems there will be a mechanism behind every door that'll open part of this hole." And steps over to the recently opened door then... Pausing to look inside for a moment, before he glances at the others, "... Rock, paper, scissors?" Marduke peers into the new room and raises his eyebrows thoughtfully, "Err interesting." Is all he offers at first shaking his head and hmming a moment. "There is a reason I said challenges. Dexterity, strength, combat, I suspect we will face a varity." Eyes looking over to Raziel, "Aye, the spirits love things like this to. Probably why I think I read it in a book, though now that I am working at the guild reading through their books has been most fun." Grinning a moment before looking back down the hall, "Hmm, I think I will wait out here." Clearly not trusting it. A glance to Mordecai, "I solved the last one. So I get a pass on this one!" Stepping back, nope no rock paper scissors for him!
Raziel steps over and looks down the hall for a moment before considering to himself. After a moment he pulls out a small bag of gil and tosses it in his hand, testing the weight, before he offers it to Mordecai, "gil.. Try throwing it and hitting the switch first... if it doesn't work then we'll rock, paper, scissors it."
The bag of gil goes sailing down the room, hits the switch and causes it to click down. There is a rumbling noise from behind them and down the corridor a cloud of blades spit out in all direction. Anyone who had been down there would have been sliced, diced and probably dead! The doorway to the next puzzle chamber clicks open the bars over the door pulling back to reveal another chamber. This one is empty of everything except a ball of glowing crystal that float in the middle of the room waiting...
As the blades come flying from the walls and well, everywhere at the end of the corridor Thaylorn gasps rather loudly, that's one game of rock paper scissors he was glad not to play! "Good thinking with throwing something at it...Would have been one of us stuck in the middle of those." He murmurs before turning his attention towards the next room that oppened up, heading towards it after a moment.
Mordecai ... Arches his brow at all those blades that pop out along that corridor as soon as the well aimed bag of Gil hits the switch, and slowly lowers his throwing arm then. Glancing at Raziel right after, and commenting towards the Aegyl, "Remind me to pay back the amount that was in that bag..." Before he slowly turns away from the hallway, and shakes his head a bit. Following Thaylorn right after to check the next open doorway, and peering at that ball, "Well, we know now to expect things that can easily kill us. What next?"
Marduke shakes his head slowly with a frown, "Scary." After the display of blades is over and shivers a moment, "Unforgiving traps meant to kill." And then proceeds to the next room, "Hmm not sure what to think here either. Glowing ball, magic most likely." A glance to Mordecai, "You really want a answer to that question so quickly?" Shaking his head and looking to Raziel, "So..."
Raziel's nose wrinkles and then he murmurs, "best thing I've spent money on in a while." He shakes his head before turning to examine the next room, his brow rising at the crystal before he looks at the others and shakes his head a little bit, indicating he's.. really not sure. The ball is an enigma it just bob there prettily and looks nice, there are no switches or devices to activate just a floating crystal sphere.
Thaylorn takes several moments to examine the crystaline based sphere after he had entered into the room, trying to discover just exactly what it might take to solve to open the next of the puzzle rooms "Well, I have a feeling that a bit of magic might unlock its potential." He would glance over to Raziel thoughtfully "And not water I don't believe, why don't you try lighting it up Raziel? It might react to that." He remarks softly while moving back towards the Aegyl.
Mordecai studies the orb as well, and nods in agreement with Thaylorn once more, adding, "Aye, we touch it, we likely die... But if this room is designed to test various abilities, then magic might do it with this one." The man looking at the others then, and adding, "So you guys are up. I'm just a shooter."
Marduke peers again at the crystal and then just steps back closer to the center of the room. "It will either be safe in the room, or out of it." Frowning a bit more, "As well. Lightning?" Glancing to Thaylorn and then back to the crstal and raises his eyebrows, "Oh this will be interesting. I can cast lightning, but Raziel is more trained in the magical arts." So he steps back and watches for the time being.
Raziel shakes his head while murmuring to himself, "hit the possibly dangerous crystal with a random spell. This... could prove dangerous. Everyone stay back." The man's wings start to shine with little orbs of firey magic, the element he most leans towards. Marduke's words are processed just a bit too late as the mage summons up a sphere of fire and hurls it towards the orb and then he blinks at Marduke, "lightning? He said lighting.. didn't..." He looks at the room and his eyes widen as he gets out of the doorframe just in case.
Good thing Raziel chose to listen to instinct and the water imp. The ball of fire splahes around the sphere and it glows bright red and with a rumbling noise another of the stone discs rolls open. More of the staircase is revealed and another room open... This one is an odd place. A series of tubes attached to the wall with wheels for moving gates around. They have water in them and at one end there is a sphere of some light material floating in the water. It looks like you have to try and move the water around the maze to get the sphere to the other end.
The Imp is also rather glad Raziel understood what he meant, else something far worse might have ended up happening to the group! Sighing lightly Thaylorn comments "Whew! Yeah, not lightning, lighting, like lighting a candle." He explains with a short laugh before moving out of the room and over to the next of the chambers, when he sees the intricate water puzzle he chuckles gently "I doubt this one will end up killing us, hopefully." He remarks as he examines the puzzle, figuring out the best way to get the ball from one end to where it's supposed to be.
Mordecai lets out a quiet breath as the fireball hurled at the orb does the trick, and they don't end up vaporized or the like. Nodding at the others then, he turns around to look for the next open doorway, and inspects the water puzzle... The man's attention of course soon shifting to Thaylorn, and remarking, "Seems you're up."
Marduke frowns a bit, "Bah, my family always uses lighting it up for blasting something with lightning. One of my younger sisters is very fond of the spell and that." Scowling a bit and then grinning, "Good thing Raziel went with his instincts to burn something." Winking over to the Agyle and then peers at the new puzzle and hmms a moment, 'Interesting, another puzzle." Eyes looking it over thoughtfully. "You able to sense water flows Thaylorn, this area is in your field I suspect.'
Raziel bows his head for a moment and he takes a few breaths before shaking it then scowling as he walks over to the next doorway to peer at the puzzle within, "I heard lighting and then lightning.. two conflicting things in my mind. Regardless lets see the next.." His brow lifts as he looks over the water before he looks at Thaylorn, nodding to him as well
It is a simple thing for Thaylorn really, the water flows, the imp is able to use his inherant and natural magical talent to move the water around and soon enough the sphere is settling into place. There is a rumbling noise and out in the main room the stone disc down below rolls out of the way! Another part of the puzzle is solved! This time however the two remaining doors slide open and stepping out, swords drawn are two large stone constructs that start to advance around the centre of the room toward the party.... seems they have triggered the last line of defence! Water puzzle completed, Thaylorn gives a small smile and starts to head back out to the central chamber once again to head to the next puzzle room, especially as he hears the remaining doors slide open. Although as he sees the two constructs appear from within him he moves to action as quickly as he can, hand falling to his blade as if to draw it for a moment before releasing his grip on it, a blade wouldn't help much against stone!
Mordecai seems glad that this puzzle is easily solved as well, or as glad as the man can look anyway, and he quietly rumbles, "Good job." Before turning back to the main chamber as well, briefly quirking a brow in curiousity as he heard what seemed two doors opening... Only to be confronted by those two statues stepping out. And he, in turn, doesn't care what his weapons might be able to do against those things, as in reaction to the sight, his hand drops to yank out his sixgun, and start shooting at the nearest foe, "Don't get cornered!"
Marduke is just leaning agaisnt the wall next to the water puzzle door watching the rest of the room while Thaylorn handles the puzzle. His arms crossed and his eyes closed as he appears to be thinking. Hearing the clicking he opens his eyes and looks over to see not one, but two doors open. "This does not surprise me either." Eyes looking at the stone guardians, "What I wouldn't do for a wind based spell one of these days. As well." Holding up a hand as he starts to chant, "Now I think lightning might do us some good yes?" Eyes looking over to Mordecai and nods.
Raziel turns to the new arrivals after Thaylorn is given a nod. His mood, already somber, remains the same though there is a bit more of a frown on his lips. "Marduke could you call one of your friends once we see how effective the lightning spell is? I've the feeling their assistance will be needed." He makes a quick motion with his hands and his wings start to glow as he once more starts calling upon the familiar fiery energies.
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