Start of #Sharn buffer: Wed Mar 24 21:11:37 2010 [17:40:49] [48 Days A.T. out of Stormreach.] [17:40:49] [The group has defeated a mated pair of bullettes and found their nest, which had a few useful items worn by the remains of some past expedition to Xen'drik.] [17:40:49] [They've made a cursory examination of their surroundings and found no other exit besides the chute leading up to where they left Johen, and leading down into magma.] [17:40:49] [Session Start.] 01[17:42:59] Those gloves had better have been worth the trip. Though I guess putting those old bones to rest wasn't bad either. [17:43:19] Well, while it looks like we have something tasty and a few useful bits, I say we leave. Quickly. I'm starting not to like this place. [17:43:46] Pardrengo sniffs, "Hey, you got yerself some ointment outta it too." [17:44:10] Yeah, well...how're we gonna get back, exactly? 01[17:44:12] That too. 01[17:44:14] Oh, and meat. 06[17:45:34] * Aurora looks back to the center. "So how do we get back up?" [17:46:04] Aside from up? Fuck me if I'm climbing THAT. [17:46:50] *Par nods. "Lez start searchin... tunnels be kind'o trickey. Walls might'n not be as thick as y'eh thinkin'" 01[17:51:41] Now that you mention it, there IS a bit of a draft... [17:53:33] Eh? 06[17:53:39] * Mauz rubs at his fuzz-covered dome. [17:53:45] *Par looks to Aurora. "Oh?" 06[17:54:11] * Marianysa looks around. "From where?" 06[17:54:54] * Aurora waves her hand in the direction of one of the walls. 01[17:54:58] There, I think? [17:55:49] [Aurora points toward a small alcove leading off from the main chamber.] [17:56:04] *Par nods. "Good work, las." [17:56:19] See, we keep her around for a reason! [17:58:16] *Par laughs as she heads off toward the Alcove. Temper follows. [17:59:17] [When the group walks into the alcove, Par and Temper are standing facing a section of wall that looks somewhat akin to a clenched maw of needle-teeth, where thin stalagmites and stalagtites have fused together into a ribbed surface.] [18:00:02] *Par pats Temper on the shoulder and steps back toward the others. 01[18:00:08] Is it really safe to go in there? [18:00:27] *Par shrugs. "Safter'n magma." [18:00:31] -t [18:00:44] Looks it, I guess. A bit point for my blood. 01[18:01:22] I guess. [18:02:39] *Temper looks over his shoulder to make sure everyone is at a safe distance, then rears back his huge ogre-sized fist and slams it into the ribbed surface of the wall. 06[18:03:12] * Marianysa draws her sword in case something unpleasant is on the other side. [18:04:11] [The stone cracks and chips inward in several places. It seems quite brittle, but Temper may just be making it look easy. Especially as he begins clamping onto the edges of the hole he made and ripping the wall down with his forged hands.] [18:04:54] [The light of the group's Torches stretches Temper's shadow into the space beyond the wall, obscuring it slightly.] 06[18:05:09] * Mauz watches, whistling. He looks kind of rugged and dashing with actual facial and head hair... okay, no. He looks kind of scruffy and weaselly. [18:05:52] [Temper sticks his head in, his constantly-glowing eyes more noticable in the dim light.] [18:06:12] Temper looks back to the group, his expression unreadable. "It is a cellar." [18:06:35] Wait. Like an actual 'store-things' cellar? 01[18:07:56] ... wait, waht? 01[18:08:07] This is an old one, right? 01[18:08:12] Not like someone else just moved in? 06[18:08:12] * Marianysa blinks. "Huh?" [18:09:15] *Temper steps back and gestures for someone else to look. 06[18:09:33] * Aurora goes to have a look 06[18:09:47] * Mauz moves over as well. [18:10:15] [Inside the space behind the wall is a normal looking cavern, but it looks like a corner of a worked basement has crumbled into it.] 06[18:10:48] * Aurora heads inside. "This looks promising." [18:12:13] [There are large, stone casks on the worked stone floor of the cellar, some sort of standing storage unit, and large stairs heading upward. The stairs are sized for someone with twice the stride length of a normal-sized human, but aren't terribly hard to climb in appearance] [18:12:59] Larger than normal. A little more than our size? [18:16:06] *Par looks at Mauz and deadpans. "Almost like dey were giants." [18:17:57] Okay, a LOT more. 06[18:18:09] * Mauz shrugs. "Now, the big question is if anyone's still in there." 06[18:18:51] * Aurora glances at Mauz. 06[18:20:55] * Aurora advances. 06[18:21:35] * Aurora pauses a moment. 01[18:21:46] You wanna see what's in the boxes? [18:22:24] Make sure nothing'll come calling for them first, Auro. [18:23:15] [Aurora head further into the room. In one corner behind the stairs are a few metal loops, each one of them as wide around as Temper is tall, with a band bout a handswidth across.] 01[18:23:42] I think we'll be fine. [18:24:19] Well, if you say so. 06[18:24:35] * Aurora looks at the loops curiously, though careful not to touch them, lest they shrink and clamp around her. [18:25:14] [There are some giantish scripts running across their outsides. Other than that they appear tarnished and unremarkable.] 06[18:26:46] * Mauz glances about lazily, looking up the stairs before touching the one closest to his arm-level. [18:27:34] [Mauz touches the surface of the rectangular storage box next to him, and nothing happens.] [18:28:56] I did not die. Now I'm curious. 06[18:29:03] * Mauz goes about seeing if he can open it. 06[18:30:24] * Aurora heads back to watch Mauz 01[18:32:01] Careful now. [18:35:57] This... fuck, stupid giant construction... 06[18:36:18] * Mauz ends up smacking his face against the box as his hands slip free. "Ow." [18:37:44] *Temper moves up and lifts the lid off the box. Internal hinges squeal with protest and quickly shatter, letting the warforged slid the lid off the box entirely. [18:38:12] *Temper looks at the fallen lid. "It must be damaged with age." 06[18:38:26] * Mauz steps back, wiping blood from his nose. "Thanks for making me look weaker than I already am." [18:39:09] *Temper looks to Mauz for a moment. "I shall endeavor to make you look only as weak as you are next time." [18:39:16] ... [18:39:28] *Temper's lower jaw hinges open after a moment. 06[18:39:37] * Aurora has a look in the box 06[18:39:50] * Mauz laughs a bit, then winces. "Shit, did I break something?" [18:42:01] *The box seems to have been an attempt at archiving texts, but the books seem to be oh-so-much dust and leather covers, their pages long-ago decomposed. Other than the old-fashioned books, several watermelon-sized dragonshards are arrayed in a row neatly. However, all but one looks burnt out, with dark, smokey smudges marring their crystaline surfaces. 01[18:42:49] I wish some of these books were still intact... maybe they could have helped us out, yeah? [18:43:13] *The remaining one glows with a faint rosey light, marking it as an Eberron dragonshard. Modern Khorvarian mages often employ spellshards to store their spells, so this might be something similar. 06[18:44:44] * Mauz frowns a little. If he knows anything (even if KNOWING that is real or not), it's a bit about dragonshards. "Could have something important and mebbe arcane in there. Get it for me, Temp?" [18:45:16] *Temper nods and reaches down with one over-sized hand to grab the shard and hold it up. 06[18:45:51] * Mauz goes to inspect the thing while pinching his nose shut. [18:46:09] [Inside the dragonshard's red crystal depths, a sinuous, inky design of darker red continuously swirls and rearranges itself. This is also common behavior of modern day spellshards.] [18:47:22] This one's pretty new. Which is odd, considering the rest are so old. 01[18:47:49] That's weird. 01[18:47:57] How'd it get in there? [18:49:14] Either dumb luck, the weirdness of this stupid zone or meddling. 06[18:49:34] * Mauz grunts. "I'm inclined to consider meddling, and I think we should keep our collective eyes open." [18:49:59] *Par frowns "New? Whaddya mean?" [18:50:29] *Par walks over as he pulls out a jeweler's eyepiece. 06[18:51:00] * Mauz pauses, looks again... and cocks his head to the side. "Okay, maybe I'm in a prospector's mindset or something." [18:51:33] ... you're right, it's not new. Similar so I was thinking it was, but not. Still, why by itself with the others wasted? [18:53:23] *Par pulls on Temper's forearm so he get get his eye right up to it, looking through the magnifying glass. "Yeah, this ain't new... shard's this big ain't nearly so common now'a'days. Plus, it was worked with giant craftsm'nship." [18:54:46] *Par looks down at the others and shrugs. "I unno. Different grades o' crystal might be holdin their magics longer'b others. Er maybe the others weren't enchant'd as much ter beggin wid." [18:54:58] ... I need to work for you sometime. [18:55:55] *Par puts the eyepiece back in one of his many pockets and grins. "I don't take employehs." [18:56:38] Bah! You're no fun. I learn quick, AND I'm not nearly as insane as I seem when you get to know me. I'm worse, but it's endearing. [18:58:10] *Par shakes his head. 06[18:58:29] * Mauz grins nonetheless. "Moving on?" [18:58:34 ] *Temper looks to Mari. "Will you take a look at it? It may be able to help us find the ruins." 01[19:00:56] Well, either way, I guess we can probably take those shards with us. [19:08:38] *Par shrugs. "Or jez the one. Other're useless." [19:09:00] *Temper nods and then passes the dragonshard over to Aurora. 06[19:09:16] * Aurora puts it away. 06[19:09:28] * Mauz unpinches his nose. "Good, it stopped." 01[19:09:31] Why're they useless? [19:12:06] "Burn't out." 01[19:12:22] Oh. 06[19:12:25] * Aurora frowns. 01[19:13:02] Well, tey aren't that heavy. I guess someone might think it'd be a festive paperweight or something, I don't know. [19:13:25] Your call, but we could go either way on 'em. [19:16:15] *Par frowns at her. "Aright, how bout you lugg'em over that dessert?" 06[19:21:40] * Aurora hands the big active dragonshard over to Mari. "Maybe you'll know what to do with this" 06[19:23:59] * Mauz sticks close to Temper, rubbing his nose a little. "Better not be any bulettes in here." 01[19:29:15] What do you think? 06[19:29:27] * Marianysa looks the shard over. "Hmm..." 06[19:34:43] * Marianysa 's eyes widen. "It's...a ritual. To create an island. In the sky." [19:35:25] *Par blinks. "What?" 01[19:35:28] ... seriously? 01[19:35:35] What's it doing here? [19:36:04] Awesome. That sounds like some serious coin. 06[19:36:23] * Marianysa shrugs. "I guess the giants wanted flying islands?" 01[19:36:24] How big an island are we talking? [19:37:03] Depends on how good the caster is. Could be up to twenty miles across. 01[19:38:00] Sounds.... well, valuable. Maybe the Cyrans could find some use in it. 06[19:38:16] * Aurora doesn't seem to mean valuable in the money-sense. [19:38:27] Massively so. Something like that, and I could retire in style. 01[19:39:29] Cyrans, Mauz. Not sirens. [19:39:38] Yeah, I dunno. It's a lot of money, but...floating island. [19:39:56] ... damn you people and your altruism! 06[19:40:14] * Mauz scowls a bit. "But I'm following you, so I guess we'll not sell it. For now." 01[19:40:18] I can't htink of anyone else who'd have a PRACTICAL use for it. [19:44:27] Well, we can figure out what to do with it later. [19:44:39] Onward! Seriously, I've a feeling we're not alone here. 01[19:45:05] Right [19:48:01] *Temper shakes his head. "I can. War." [19:49:46] "Floating landmasses created over defenese out of the blue can be deadly staging points for tactical maneuvers." 06[19:50:41] * Aurora frowns. 01[19:50:58] We'll figure that out later, I guess 06[19:51:09] * Aurora follows the others out, assuming this room's been emptied out [19:51:30] Well, technically it doesn't create an island out of nothing, it raises it out of the ground. A little harder to work in tactically. 01[19:51:42] Huh. [19:53:55] "...I can think of far more devestating things to do with that." [19:54:33] "You could rip a city in half..." 01[19:54:46] So... I guess we better be careful who this gets to [19:55:35] *Temper says it calmly, as if large-scale descruction was a common thought-process for him. 01[19:55:56] Or even let know about this [19:57:18] Well, I guess if we ever need to destroy a city... 06[19:57:23] * Marianysa replies dryly. [19:57:26] Hrm. Well, a floating city would be a perfect battle platform. Some flying ships, some flying skirmishers, and perhaps something to fling bad shit at the world below... [19:59:50] *Temper nods slowly. "Perhaps it would be best if we held onto it." 01[20:01:19] Or destroy it, but it's got too much use for good. [20:03:30] Hang onto it for now. Better us that some fucker like Xev. [20:03:54] *Par snorts at that. 01[20:05:29] Let's not talk about this again. In a way, it's good we got split up. Shezna isn't gonna hear about this. [20:06:21] You're probably right. 01[20:06:22] If we have to, just call it "The tablet" or "The book" or "The sword" or something like that. 01[20:06:43] Or shovel. I guess that's basically what it is. 03[20:06:49] * nova (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) has joined #Sharn [20:06:51] (You mean Johen. Shezna's with the group) 02[20:06:55] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) Quit (Killed (NickServ (GHOST command used by nova))) 03[20:06:55] * nova is now known as NovaSeaker 03[20:06:57] * ChanServ sets mode: +o NovaSeaker 01[20:07:13] ( Yeah. Derp. ) [20:07:38] (She can be back in the cave, though, since Temper had to put her down to punch the wall down) 01[20:07:45] ( Oh, sure. ) 01[20:08:07] Shovel sounds like an obvious codeword, though... 01[20:10:12] Unless someone has better ideas, it'll have to do. We just need to avoid talking about it. [20:10:33] *Temper nods. [20:10:48] Let's just do that, yeah. 01[20:11:12] If necessary, we find an ACTUAL shovel... 06[20:11:27] * Aurora furrows her brow in concentration. She's thinking about this too hard. [20:14:12] *Temper nods. "I'll get the prisoner." [20:14:46] [Temper moves back toward the cavern where he left Shezna, then throws her over his shoulder again and returns.] 06[20:16:08] * Aurora blinks, then relaxes as Temper heads off. 01[20:16:35] Up the stairs? [20:17:27] Yeah, let's get out of here. 06[20:18:57] * Aurora nods, and follows the others up 06[20:19:55] * Mauz tags along, scratching his chin. "You know... I wonder sometimes." [20:20:09] Will we leave behind crazy shit like this when we fade from time's memory? 01[20:21:09] Depends on what they'll use in the next war. [20:22:30] [The group trudges up the over-sized steps until they reach the door at the top of the staircase. A large iron door with rusted hindges.] [20:23:56] I am not pushing that. Temper? [20:30:15] *Temper nods then heaves his shoulder against the door. He manages to put a shallow dent in it, but it doesn't budge. [20:30:48] *Par nudges Mari. "How bout you try th'lock first?" [20:33:27] Good idea. 01[20:33:44] Let's hope the lock isn't going to jam on us 06[20:36:46] * Marianysa slips the gloves they found earlier on. "Let's see how these work out." 01[20:37:40] Oh! Good idea. 06[20:40:34] * Marianysa picks the lock with ease. "Hmm, I think I like these." [20:40:57] [Mari not only trips the ancient tumblers with ease, she also activates some sort of automation engine, which causes gears inside the metal of the door the churn and clunk as gears open the large, heavy door by itself.] 06[20:42:37] * Marianysa grins. "Nothin' to it." [20:42:51] *Par pats Mari on the shoulder as he steps into the room beyond. There are giant-sized tables and shelves with the remains of glass and metalwork alchemical apparatii. [20:42:57] Nice. [20:43:20] And once again, the sheer size of it all.. [20:43:32] *He looks around and nods. "A'right. Lets be findin' our way back... then see if we can find out anthin' bout those ruins." 06[20:44:09] * Aurora nods [20:44:43] [Session End.] [20:44:51] [200 xp] [20:44:59] ["Shovel" found.] 03[20:45:47] * Marianysa is now known as Yon 03[20:45:56] * Aurora is now known as Demota 03[21:22:08] * Mauz is now known as Darkheart 02[21:40:01] * Darkheart (lol@fl-67-235-248-185.dhcp.embarqhsd.net) Quit (Quit: Client Exited) 02[22:59:38] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 180 seconds) 03[15:36:47] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) has joined #Sharn 03[17:07:45] * Yon is now known as Megumi 02[19:01:15] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) Quit (optical.esper.net excelsior.esper.net) 02[19:01:15] * Megumi (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-30-87.dynamic.mts.net) Quit (optical.esper.net excelsior.esper.net) 03[19:01:40] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) has joined #Sharn 03[19:01:40] * Megumi (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-30-87.dynamic.mts.net) has joined #Sharn 03[19:47:18] * nova (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) has joined #Sharn 02[19:48:54] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 180 seconds) 03[20:02:04] * Megumi is now known as Yon 03[21:02:44] * Yon (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-30-87.dynamic.mts.net) has left #Sharn [17:34:43] * Now talking in #Sharn [17:34:43] * Topic is 'Init:Bulette, Mari, Phanos, Aurora, Temper, Mauz, Pardrengo' [17:34:43] * Set by NovaSeaker on Wed Feb 24 19:27:51 [17:34:45] * Demota is now known as Aurora [17:34:51] * ChanServ sets mode: +o NovaSeaker [17:37:57] * Marianysa (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-13-64.dynamic.mts.net) has joined #Sharn [17:43:19] * Marianysa (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-13-64.dynamic.mts.net) Quit (Quit: rebooting) [17:50:09] * Marianysa (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-13-64.dynamic.mts.net) has joined #Sharn [17:54:20] [48 Days A.T. out of Stormreach.] [17:54:20] [After the group was finished rifling through the ancient cellar and finding a magic "shovel", they proceeded up the stairs and into an ancient giant-sized alchemical lab.] [17:54:20] [Session Start.] [17:55:59] Oof. [17:56:05] Mari, you know anything about this stuff? [17:57:21] [At a cursory glance, Mari sees that most of the alchemical substances look long expired, and the rest are missing, likely either decomposed into dust or scavanged by prior expeditions.] [17:57:45] * Aurora looks like she fully expects Mari can do something with this. [17:58:02] Yeah, but it looks like the lab isn't much use anymore... [17:58:08] [It's hard to tell what sort of experiments they were conducting due to the incomplete subtances, broken and worn tools, and general lack of Giant alchemical processes.] [17:59:07] [They could have been making hand-made warforged from scratch, or making toys for giant-children. Who knows?] [18:00:13] * Aurora starts walking around, trying to get a better look at this stuff. [18:03:09] [As the group disperses, they're able to examine the tools and apparatii scattered on the tabletops without too much trouble, the table surfaces reaching as high as their chins, only requiring minimum neck craining to see.] [18:05:04] * Aurora holds up a tool. "What's this?" [18:05:33] [Aurora is holding a two-pronged fork of silver.] [18:05:43] * Marianysa makes a face as she examines the debris on top of one of the tables. "They were...experimenting on fiends, looks like." [18:07:15] What? Oh, eew. [18:07:20] * Aurora puts it down on the table [18:07:51] * Marianysa turns to Aurora. "Probably one of the tools they used on them. Being silver and all." [18:07:54] *Pardrengo nods. "Yehp. Giants wer' never really both'red by `sperimenting on livin folk. Or wit' thing they shouldn'ta." [18:08:25] *He laughs. "S'probably why they all livin in tents now." [18:09:35] * Aurora eyes Mauz. [18:11:33] *Temper looks around. "Should we not return to Johen?" [18:11:39] You mean like Mauz? [18:11:58] * Aurora said that before Temper asked that [18:14:37] *Par looks at Aurora. "Don't get yer meanin'." [18:15:12] Yeah, I'm not sure I'm following you, Aurora. [18:15:40] * Aurora blinks. "That ... giantess. Back in town." [18:15:42] * Aurora shudderes. [18:16:41] *Mauz smirks and mentions that he gave consent. [18:19:30] If there's nowhere else to go to, I guess we should head back to Johen, but weren't we trying to find another way up? [18:20:05] * Aurora looks for another door [18:20:10] ( Back, rather ) [18:22:54] *Temper nods. "Of course. I wasn't suggesting we go back to the cave..." [18:23:53] [An exit to the room isn't hard to find. Across the way from the door to the storage celler is another large iron door. This one seems to have been forced open relatively recently, however.] [18:24:50] *Par moves over to it and inspects the gouges on the iron door. "Yep.. damage happen'd while ago. Few years `er so." [18:25:33] *He nods over to the cellar. "Prob'ly had more trouble wit' th' cellar door, couldn't force it." [18:26:04] Weird... I wonder who. [18:26:54] * Marianysa shrugs. "Probably doesn't matter much at this point. Well, I guess it could still, but, y'know." [18:26:59] *Par shrugs. "Prolly just some other korks lookin to pass through. Heck, mighta even been those fella's we took that stuff offa from th' bulette nest." [18:27:27] I guess so. [18:27:38] *Par laughs. "Coulda fell in some oth'r hole an' ended up sharkbait." [18:28:45] *Par pats Aurora on the shoulder. "Don' worry. 'nless they went native and survived years in the wild, they ain't gonna bother no'un." [18:29:25] Yeah. Not unless time went weird again, anyway. [18:30:27] *Par raises his eyebrows. "True. Keep fergettin it hits you korks worse'n us. Most I've ever lost when by m'self's been a week `er two." [18:32:26] *Par shrugs after that and begins to stalk down the hallway. The standstone tiles and walls stretch wide and far overhead, with blocky architecture. [18:33:38] You guys love to tempt fate, don't you. [18:34:39] *Par looks over his shoulder at Mari. "Eh?" [18:35:24] We're totally gonna run into people who've been lost for years now, and it's all your fault. [18:35:55] How is it my fault? [18:35:56] *Par stops and readies his bow, nocking it fully. "Where?" [18:36:33] * Marianysa groans. "Nevermind." [18:40:41] * Aurora walks down the hallways [18:41:53] [The group explores the giant complex cautiously, trying to find their way back to the front entrance where they left Johen.] [18:42:39] [Checking each door carefully, and either waving everyone forward or back from it, Pardrengo finally hesitates at one and just lets out a soft whistle.] [18:43:21] [He pulls his head back from the doorway and looks over at Mari.] "Yeh should take a look a' this." [18:43:29] Hm? [18:44:05] * Marianysa goes over to see what Pard is looking at. "What?" [18:44:26] [Inside the room is a rather large... device.] [18:45:23] * Aurora walks over. "What is this thing? [18:45:59] [Hanging down from the ceiling is an intricately webbed structure of onyx and gold-veined marble, cradling a deep blue, almost purple, dragonshard. The color suggest a khyber shard, and it's as large as Temper's torso.] [18:46:56] [The shard is cut into a perfect diamond form, its flat surface at the bottom, held directly over a metal platform on the ground, by the stone structure.] [18:48:07] I'm...not entirely sure. [18:48:17] [On the wall opposite the doorway is panoramic of mosaic tiles, displaying a large fortress of brass and marble on top of a grassy plain.] [18:49:46] [Just on the edge of the metal platform beneath the giant khyber shard, is a podium a head taller than Temper, making it perfect for a Giant standing on the metal platform to work the various knobs and crystals on its top surface.] [18:51:52] [As Aurora walks toward the platform, the khyber shard above it begins to glow with a dark purple light, and hum ominously.] [18:52:09] Uh. [18:52:13] Aura, what did you do? [18:53:39] What/ [18:53:42] I didn't do anything [18:53:47] * Aurora steps back @_@ [18:54:24] [As Aurora steps back the dragonshard deactivates.] [18:57:15] * Marianysa eyes her. "Uhuh." [18:57:48] Okay, maybe I walked [18:57:51] * Marianysa tentatively steps towards the platform. [18:58:02] [The shard glows and hums again.] [18:58:54] * Marianysa backs away. [18:59:01] Okay, so...it's just proximity? [18:59:02] [It deactives.] [18:59:27] *Temper nods. "Appears to be." [18:59:33] Is it safe? [19:00:57] [It is widely known that khyber shards are mostly useful for their binding purposes.] [19:01:32] (binding properties, rather) [19:03:49] * Marianysa folds her arms. "You think anything's currently sealed here?" [19:04:42] *Phanos walks forward. "Why dey be sealin them'self?" [19:05:19] *He points at the podium, who's controls are facing toward the metal platform under the khyber shard. If the shard is used to bind someone, it would have to be whoever's operating the controls. [19:06:11] ... weird [19:06:30] * Marianysa frowns. "Good question." [19:08:10] Maybe...hrm. [19:12:05] Well, say, you know that the doom of your civilization is coming. [19:12:57] In that situation, maybe someone binds themselves for the purposes of hopefully having their soul recovered later? [19:13:03] *Temper looks to Mari. "You think they stored themselves in the shard?" [19:13:07] I'm just theorizing here. [19:13:26] *Par rubs his chin and looks at the mosaic. "What's th' signif'cance o' dis, then?" [19:13:57] Well, it's possible. Or maybe they just sealed a recording? Unless we can figure out how to operate it, I'm not sure what it could be. [19:14:25] *Par looks to Mari "Sides, the Furant civliza'shin didn't get destroyed o'ver night. They progressed into the latter fellas, what made that tower we got blown outta." [19:15:38] "An tha' was o'er thousand o' years." [19:15:41] Mm, good point. Well, they didn't necessarily have to have actually used it. Or maybe the recording device is a more logical answer. [19:16:04] *Par nods. "Welp. One way a findin' out." [19:16:33] Can there be more than one way? [19:16:35] *Par walks onto the platform. The shard doesn't hum or glow any brighter. [19:17:15] *Par gets down on all fours next to the podium, then hooks a thumb toward his back. "Climb on, get with inspectin'." [19:19:09] * Marianysa nods and uses Pard's back as a stepladder to get a better look at the controls. [19:27:24] * Marianysa climbs down. [19:28:08] No good. I can't figure out WHAT it does, though I've got some idea of what the individual controls do. [19:29:30] Can... can we test it with a stick? [19:30:01] *Par gets up and dusts his hands off. [19:30:36] I...you know, we might be able to rig something up so that we weren't on the platform when it activates. [19:32:42] * Aurora nods [19:32:45] So what do you need? [19:35:32] * Marianysa manages to rig up the activation lever to be operated at a distance. "Okay. Everyone ready?" [19:36:05] Yeah. [19:36:44] [Everyone stands clear of the platform.] [19:37:17] * Marianysa tugs the cables she's hooked up to the lever. "Here goes." [19:37:37] * Aurora watches uneasily. [19:39:22] [Mari hits the lever that activates the shard.... and a bell chimes from nowhere. Followed by a deep, husky, soothing woman's voice speaking in Giant. From nowhere. Nothing happens with the shard or the platform.] [19:40:23] * Aurora waits... [19:40:47] Well. At least we know nothing's gonna come OUT now. Though I wish I knew giant, we might've gotten more out of that. [19:40:50] [Nothing happens.] [19:41:41] At least it didn't surround the platform in a field then destroy everything not standing on the platform. [19:41:49] * Marianysa frowns. "Well it doesn't seem overtly sinister. Or maybe the voice and the chime are supposed to throw us off." [19:41:56] *Par scratches his head. "Think it started with 'Please'." [19:42:06] So...wanna try it with something on the platform? [19:42:44] *Temper looks to Mari. "Perhaps we should find Johen?" [19:43:28] * Marianysa makes a face. "I guess so." [19:43:50] I guess it's better for all of us to be around before we look at it. Assuming nothing keeps us from getting back [19:44:58] *Temper nods. "He might also be able to lend us a hand. He is a professor, after all." [19:45:58] Come to think of it, did he speak Giant? [19:47:18] Right, let's go get him. [19:49:56] * Aurora nods [19:50:07] * Aurora advances. THen stops, looking at the dragonshard nervously [19:50:30] [As the group files out of the room, the dragonshard deactives when no one is in proximity.] [19:52:41] * Aurora follows when it does nothing [19:53:25] [The group continues to cautiously move through the complex, Pardrengo attempting to let his sense of direction guide them through the blocky, wide corridors.] [19:54:45] [Eventually they turn a corner and find a pillar toppled across the hallway. It broke in half and fall onto itself, clogging the hall nearly up to the ceiling. But beyond the mess, the group can see traces of someone else's torchlight.] [19:55:00] Johen? [19:55:08] Is that you? [19:55:42] [There's a slight pause.] "Small religious girl, is that you?" [19:56:31] [It's Johen's voice.] [19:57:02] I'm not THAT small. [19:57:05] But yeah. [19:57:17] "You are comparatively tiny, let me assure you." [20:00:14] * Aurora pouts. As if he could see that. "Anyway, how do we get through this thing?" [20:00:53] [It looks like a pain, but one could climb over the rubble and squeeze through the opening.] [20:02:45] Where are you, anyway? Right where we left you? [20:03:10] *Par clears his throat. "Ah'e\['- [20:05:49] *Par clears his throat. "Ah'em. Get yer wizard but o'er here. We got summin ta show ya." [20:08:53] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) Quit (Quit: Client Exited) [20:22:40] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-67-190-200-4.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) has joined #Sharn [20:23:18] [After a few comical minutes of watching Johen trying to get his rotund frame through the rubble, the group heads back to the device chamber.] [20:24:03] *Johen turns to Mari and indicates her makeshift hook. "If you would activate the device again?" [20:25:16] * Marianysa nods and throws the switch. [20:25:40] *Johen takes a moment to listen to the soothing giant woman's voice. [20:27:09] " 'Please stand fully on the platform before activating, for your saftey.' " [20:27:39] Oh. [20:27:40] "Rather old dialect too." [20:27:45] How'd you learn that, anyway? [20:28:00] *Johen looks at Aurora mildly. "School." [20:28:03] ...well now I feel more than a little embarassed. [20:28:21] So my guess was close...ish? [20:29:34] *Johen looks to Aurora. "What was your guess?" [20:30:12] That we'd havev to be on the platform to be safe. [20:32:06] *Johen shakes his head. "I'm not sure that's it, given the context." [20:32:39] [Johen points to the large mosaic covering one of the walls, specifically to the tiles forming giant script at the bottom.] [20:32:51] * Marianysa thinks. "Yeah, it could be...if you're only partly on the platform, there's problems?" [20:33:06] Like it only affects half of you with...whatever it does [20:33:21] "That says, 'Destination: Gah'Havetica'." [20:33:27] What's that? [20:34:12] "It would probably be safer for the user if he's brought to Gah'Havetica in one piece." [20:38:53] * Aurora nods [20:39:55] So...Gah'Havetica. Any idea where or what that is? [20:40:14] Is the mosaic depicting it, or what? [20:40:31] *Johen shrugs. "No idea where it is. And I'm guessing so." [20:42:56] So... do we have a reason to go to Gah'Havetica? [20:43:07] *Par snorts. "Not particularly." [20:44:02] Uh. If it's just for transportation to one location. [20:44:18] Why're there so many different settings? [20:44:24] ... that's a good question [20:45:14] *Johen shrugs again. "I'm a scholar, not a eldritch device engineer." [20:47:10] Basically, I know how NOT to turn it on. [20:48:18] Hmm... [20:48:22] *Par shrugs. "So push buttons, see what th' settins do." [20:48:41] I was just gonna try that. Someone watch the mosaic. [20:49:09] *Johen mutters "I shall try." [20:49:38] (er... strike that.) [20:49:43] *Johen smiles. "I shall try." [20:51:03] * Yon (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-13-64.dynamic.mts.net) has joined #Sharn [20:51:10] * Marianysa (dlarmour@wnpgmb1302w-ad01-13-64.dynamic.mts.net) Quit (Read error: Connection reset by peer) [20:52:02] Alright, so... onto the platform? [20:52:50] * Yon is now known as Marianysa [20:53:19] Doesn't really matter, I'm not activating anything. [20:55:00] * Marianysa starts with one of the multi-setting levers, just moving it one. [20:56:42] [There is a torrent of noise, like ceramic bowls clacking against each other, but a thousand times over. The mosaic tiles begin spinning in the wall, as the view pans over the grassy plane, the fortress apparently name Gah'Havetica pans off the wall.] [20:57:03] * Aurora blinks [20:57:52] [The tiles making up part of the giant scripts remain the same, supposedly the word for "Destination:", but the rest of the tiles go blank, indicating no destination.] [20:59:16] [A moment later, a sprawling city of squared buildings and blocky archetecture comes clacking onto the wall, and giant script clacked into the space next to the Destination marker.] [21:01:58] [The last few tiles clack into their correct colors and the whole display goes still, as if it had always been displaying this scene.] [21:03:18] Alright. So I think I've got the controls figured out. If we could actually find somewhere we wanted to be in the destinations, this could be real useful. Assuming it's still fully functional. [21:05:32] *Johen nods. "No reason to suspect not. The display is working wonderfully, at least. And the failsafes." [21:05:45] I guess we should be glad for that. [21:05:57] Yeah, true. [21:07:03] *Par nods. "Aright. Let's see what this pup can do." [21:07:06] [Session End.] [21:07:12] [200 xp] [21:08:07] * Aurora is now known as Demota End of #Sharn buffer Wed Mar 24 21:11:37 2010