2022-01-12: A Carefully Planned Series of Events
- Log: A Carefully Planned Series of Events
- Cast: Ethius Hesiod, Citan Uzuki
- Where: Meribia - Sewers
- Date: January 12, 2022
- Summary: Professor Raydon Wellington is in need of some assistance. Ethius and Citan heed the call, and thus set forth to investigate the sewers of Meribia. But, is the Professor a fool or does he have something up his sleeves? (yes)
DG: A party led by Ethius Hesiod is now entering Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== =========<* CHALLENGE - This Reminds Me of a Puzzle - Misplaced Key *>========== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You have been contacted by one Professor Raydon Wellington, a scholar of law from Hyland. A member of the minor nobility, Professor Raydon is a warm but professional man who investigates strange crimes and difficult situations as a hobby. He seeks both justice and intellectual stimulation, but sometimes he needs assistance. He also happens to pay very well. He is a tall man, wearing a dark blue scarf, a fine suit that has some patches, and a large overcoat. He always has a top hat on, though it is a little rumpled with age. As you approach the entrance to the sewers, he smiles. "Ah, my newest pupils! Welcome! I've found our first difficulty... and it reminds me of a puzzle." The entrance that the Professor's investigation takes him to, today, has a rusted iron door. There is a keyhole there -- and he looks it over for a moment, before he frowns. "You see... the guard is to keep a key to the sewers in this lockbox." He motions to an opened one. "But it seems he misplaced it. I believe he may have placed it nearby. Now... what clues might point to where the key is?" =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Treasure========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Now, this 'should' have been some sort of cursory look into the sewers of Meribia, for some strange overarching goal inscrutable and... perhaps, only to be explained in a hasty picture show in the rushed parts of Chapter 4 while someone sits in a chair with a rosary pendulum, or something.
That is not what this is.
Professor Raydon Wellington, scholar of law from Hyland, has a mystery involving this location - again - and has been paid handsomely to look into this mystery - again - at this self-same time anyone else might be minding their own business of not minding the business of whatever goes on in the sewers such as who keeps making these run-on sentences.
"Ah, you must be the pupils... I do recognize at least one of you!" The tall man in the blue scarf and slightly rumpled top hat smiles placidly to Ethius, who does not smile back. He may not be able to. That may be why he has the bandanna around his face, and/or looks like a random two-bit hoodlum for these parts of Lunar. Maybe that is the mystery today.
Only after a delay, does Ethius confirm the following, with the tiniest inflection of resignation where the rest of his body language does not communicate this. "Yes."
"Well! You will be familiar with the first issue I have today," he looks over to whomever else is with him - which is to say a simple country doctor - as he holds his arms out. "Once more, the guard is to keep a key to the sewers in this lockbox," he motions to the opened one. "But it seems he misplaced it. I believe he may placed it nearby. Now... what clues might point to where the key is?"
Ethius, for his part, is doing his level best to ignore participating in this, as if he were still nursing a sore spot over what happened the last time they were trying to reason where a key might be, just doing his usual sweep with the softly glowing lens and trying to foist this off on someone else.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, This Reminds Me of a Puzzle - Misplaced Key.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
No, this is something else altogether.
The Black Wolves' business takes them to Lunar at times, and thus, their business also finds Citan Uzuki once again far from home. Having previously missed out on certain escapades on this part of Lunar, he has a keen interest in learning more about the nations and their people. The best way, he has so often felt, is to do that first hand, and thus, while the others are perhaps attending to their own business in the immediate area...
...he has opted to stay behind in Meribia and work on gathering intelligence. It's a particular skill, in his case, that he has previously shown himself to be quite adept at.
It was in so doing that he'd heard about a particular rumor regarding the sewers, and what's more, that a particular gentleman from Hyland had come to investigate these same rumors and was seeking aid. It was quite neatly convenient.
"Indeed, I am pleased to make your acquaintance, professor," Citan says, glancing over Ethius' way as Raydon names the other man as someone he's seen before. "I am Citan Uzuki, and I see that you already know my friend here." 'Friend' is... quite the stretch, given the sort of person Ethius is, and given how well Citan knows him. But politeness is important, as the good professor likely knows. "Now, as I understand, you are investigating the matter at hand regarding the sewers? I, myself, found the rumors intriguing... Let us see what we are able to discover, shall we?"
And already, there is a conundrum facing them, barely moments after reaching the entrance to the sewers.
"Hmm... and I presume it is no matter of theft, as the guard has only just left his post," Citan muses, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. "If it is not in the lockbox, then perhaps..."
The floor seems as if it might be slightly tilted. And there are drains, with their contents hidden at a cursory glance.
Pulling out a level, Citan kneels as if to test his hypothesis. "Perhaps not misplaced, but instead... dropped? Ah, Mister Hesiod, if you would not mind taking a look in this drain...?"
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Just The Right Tool toward his party's challenge, This Reminds Me of a Puzzle - Misplaced Key.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== =========<* CHALLENGE - This Reminds Me of a Puzzle - Misplaced Key *>========== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You have been contacted by one Professor Raydon Wellington, a scholar of law from Hyland. A member of the minor nobility, Professor Raydon is a warm but professional man who investigates strange crimes and difficult situations as a hobby. He seeks both justice and intellectual stimulation, but sometimes he needs assistance. He also happens to pay very well. He is a tall man, wearing a dark blue scarf, a fine suit that has some patches, and a large overcoat. He always has a top hat on, though it is a little rumpled with age. As you approach the entrance to the sewers, he smiles. "Ah, my newest pupils! Welcome! I've found our first difficulty... and it reminds me of a puzzle." The entrance that the Professor's investigation takes him to, today, has a rusted iron door. There is a keyhole there -- and he looks it over for a moment, before he frowns. "You see... the guard is to keep a key to the sewers in this lockbox." He motions to an opened one. "But it seems he misplaced it. I believe he may have placed it nearby. Now... what clues might point to where the key is?" =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Treasure========================================
========<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery - Round 1 *>========= ===========< Results - This Reminds Me of a Puzzle - Misplaced Key >============ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 0 --(8)--> 8 Fail Spectral Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Just The Right Tool 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 0 --(25)--> 25 Pass Conditions: Stupify(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"Ah, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Uzuki! Why, I almost feel like standing before you I might be confused for your pupil! You have that look about you." The Professor's just making pleasant conversation, but there's something about this man's simple beady eyes... so very simple, black-dot eyes... where intelligence of any color can be swirling behind that different art style of a face. "I would be delighted to have your assistance!"
"I believe I found a key," Ethius holds something up.
"Oh, now, that wouldn't possibly be the key!" The Professor pish-poshes that as he excitedly watches Citan's hypothesis, as Ethius stands there holding a key and is directed to look in the drain. He stares blankly for a while, looks down the drain, and is temporarily blinded looking through the lens into a highly active and complex symbol-structured waterway.
"Ah, you are correct!" The key the Professor is actually looking for - or has decided is what he's looking for - retrieves it with Citan's help, holding it up as though it were clean and shiny and good to handle and not something that was just dropped down the drain. He points dramatically. "This is it!"
Ethius is left holding a completely different key, staring at it for a while, and then...
"Oh, could you return that to the lockbox?" The Professor suggests as he opens the rusted iron door with the key of his preference, and Citan can be treated to the blank stare of a defeated man who already knows there is no real escape for what sorts of twisty, puzzling logic awaits all of them.
"Yes. I will return what appears to be the incorrect key to the lockbox that is meant for the key that you are holding."
"Good show!"
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ==================<* CHALLENGE - Breaking Through the Wall *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The Professor has a keen eye. As he walks down one sewer channel-adjacent pathway, he abruptly stops. He holds a finger to his lips, indicating for silence, and then leads in. It is quiet except for the steady rush of sewer water, but Raydon leans his ear to the wall. "Ah! As I thought," he says. "This is hollow, and there is a chamber on the other side of this wall. Perhaps whatever we are looking for shall be through there," he says. "Now... how proficient are you in knocking your way through walls?" =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Oh? Is that so?" Citan remarks, omitting -- perhaps purposefully -- his own honoraries as a doctor. But then, perhaps, being a country doctor is no great accomplishment against the might of a (legal) professorship. "I admit that I am more often the student than the teacher," he continues, shaking his head. "But, as they say, there is a time for all things."
Ethius reports that he found a key, in a rather different location than Citan had suggested he try looking. The liquid in the level reports a rather significant slant, in fact, leading towards the drain, which suggests a particular unlucky fate to befall a key once dropped on this part of the floor.
Citan regards Ethius and his key for a moment more before, collecting his things, he himself moves towards the grate. Something sparkles, incongruously.
"Aha! Then it was a mere accident, after all. It is fortunate for the guard that we were able to locate it," Citan says, watching on as Raydon opens the grate. He does glance over once as Raydon suggests that Ethius return the (incorrect) key to the lockbox. His brow furrows.
But he doesn't remark.
Raydon calls for silence a short while after they press onwards into the sewer, this part of the underbelly of Meribia free of any untoward smells if most certainly... a waste waterway, underground, without ever seeing the sanitizing light of day. It's not clean down here, but it's certainly not filthy.
Naught can be heard but the rush of water. Raydon has stopped by a particular wall.
There is a chamber here, says the professor. Just on the other side of the wall.
Citan lightly raps his knuckles against the stone. "...Is it, now? That is quite out of the ordinary. Was it merely walled up after part of these sewers were rerouted, or..."
He glances at Raydon and at Ethius both, then nods. "Well, we cannot discount it. Now let me see..."
He has retrieved a manual from somewhere, paging through it for whatever section it is that he's seeking. "Hmm... perhaps," he muses aloud soon after, tracing fingertips along the masonry.
"...Perhaps, here."
And with pin-point precision, he jabs a finger against a particular spot on the wall.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Acupressure Guide toward his party's challenge, Breaking Through the Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius dutifully does the thing he is asked, even with the exasperated response, and they come together into the sewer of interest which has become part of a more interesting - or perhaps entirely irritating - day. He's already got that hand to his head when the Professor says for certain there's a chamber on the other side of the wall. That whatever he's looking for must be there, and he's already bracing for the clever twist that discounts the obvious issues.
"I will take watch," Ethius says, as he rounds the corner and pointedly does not seem to do any sort of wall-knocking or melting, trying to find the opposite way about these sewer tunnels for a HIDDEN AGENDA.
(the hidden agenda is an attempt to find another door inside the chamber and then open the chamber, from the inside, encountered through a reasonable and normal entry)
(and then probably get acupuncture-blasted)
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Breaking Through the Wall.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ==================<* CHALLENGE - Breaking Through the Wall *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The Professor has a keen eye. As he walks down one sewer channel-adjacent pathway, he abruptly stops. He holds a finger to his lips, indicating for silence, and then leads in. It is quiet except for the steady rush of sewer water, but Raydon leans his ear to the wall. "Ah! As I thought," he says. "This is hollow, and there is a chamber on the other side of this wall. Perhaps whatever we are looking for shall be through there," he says. "Now... how proficient are you in knocking your way through walls?" =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
========<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery - Round 2 *>========= ====================< Results - Breaking Through the Wall >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 8 --(5)--> 13 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Acupressure Guide 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 25 --(20)--> 45 Pass Conditions: Stupify(1)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"That may be a good idea," Citan remarks to Ethius, as he investigates the stonework.
The mortar had been showing signs of decay, as if the wall had been assembled in haste. A strange sign -- while it is true that no city government necessarily does good and careful work, it still seemed out of the ordinary: even a dishonest workman would have stretched out the work for gain rather than complete it too soon. The mortar had not set properly. Someone had been rushing.
And all it takes is a simple application of force to cause it to fall apart completely.
There had not originally been a wall here. Indeed, the whole arrangement is strange, especially when one takes into account...
...the door by which Ethius then enters the former chamber.
(the door had stuck a bit)
(he may have had to have to break the lock)
"...How strange," is Citan's statement on the matter. But why had this been constructed this way? Why make a room? The answer is likely found within!
DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Spoiled Stores *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- "Ah, now this seems promising!" Raydon says. The Professor hurries ahead of you as he sees a wooden door, already ajar, ahead. He opens it carefully -- and then makes a disgusted noise. He pulls back, and starts covering his face with his scarf. "Ah, I fear... we have some nasty work ahead of us. We've found one of their safe houses, but..." He steps back to show what he means. The small, closet-sized room has several crates inside -- and these are smashed inward. Once, they held foodstuffs, but they had some foul liquid poured over. They are putrefying, now. The smell is horrendous. "We need to determine what was originally in these crates. While food seems likely, it could be that weapons, drugs, or magical artifacts were stored here too..." Raydon sighs. "And if there is a trace of such things, we must determine that. Shall we get to work? Does everyone have gloves?" =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Exhaust=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"Ah, now this seems promising! For I see we have found the chamber to whom this belongs!" The Professor points, at Ethius, who has to wave his hand to clear away some of the swirling dust and detritus in the air. Like for once, the universe gets to go to him, 'yes, that's what that's like, no one likes having dust blown in their face.'
Ethius will not learn this key lesson of the universe tonight.
"Ah, I fear... you must have lived in squalor and were not ready to receive guests!"
"You watched me leave you to walk around the corner." Ethius responds, matter-of-factly.
"Oh, that's what you would like us to believe! You look much the same as any other crook that would dwell the streets and the sewers beneath!"
"Yes, I do take particular care to recreate the det--"
"Ergo, any other crook that would dwell the streets and the sewers beneath could look much the same as the assistant who just left us and has not done that great a job of warning us of incoming danger!"
Citan can see this is the part in Ethius' eyes where he fails to process this.
"Now! I would, as a token of apology for having had your comfortable apartment wall destroyed, offer to assist in... determining what was originally in these crates. While I would not judge you for having a fondness for stockpiling spoiled food, it would not do to fail to offer to help you unpack and ensure you haven't misplaced anything important!"
Ethius continues to stare blankly, as the professor asides to Citan. "I must ask you do not repeat this aloud, but it could be that weapons, drugs, or magical artifacts were stored, against the law of the land and all. Therefore, if there is such a trace of such things..."
Ethius, currently the prime suspect, leans in, looks to Citan, shakes his head, and gets out the lens again to look around for something else, anything else.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, Spoiled Stores.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
It's Ethius who finds himself on the other end of the Professor's accusatory finger.
"Professor, would you happen to be implying that our companion has been 'replaced'?" Citan pauses a moment, as if attempting to root out the most diplomatic way to phrase the matter of this particular elephant in the room, glancing between Ethius and Raydon. Ethius, in particular, who looks exactly the same as he had when he'd departed from their sides moments ago.
Citan fidgets with his glasses, then folds his arms over his chest. "That would, ah, have been quite the quick change of attire, do you not think...?"
Raydon perseveres down this particular avenue of reasoning.
"Now, I believe there may be ways to determine the identity of this fellow," Citan persists, only for the Professor to lean in and aside to him about the hazards and other illegalities that may be lurking amidst the contents of the crates.
Citan is, for once, silent.
"...Of course," he answers Raydon finally, and with a fleeting sheepish smile and slight shake of the head in Ethius' direction -- perhaps to suggest 'let us humor him' -- he moves towards one of the crates and with the use of a hammer and chisel, does his level best to work at getting a crate opened. ...Carefully.
The smell is absolutely putrid.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Just The Right Tool toward his party's challenge, Spoiled Stores.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Spoiled Stores *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- "Ah, now this seems promising!" Raydon says. The Professor hurries ahead of you as he sees a wooden door, already ajar, ahead. He opens it carefully -- and then makes a disgusted noise. He pulls back, and starts covering his face with his scarf. "Ah, I fear... we have some nasty work ahead of us. We've found one of their safe houses, but..." He steps back to show what he means. The small, closet-sized room has several crates inside -- and these are smashed inward. Once, they held foodstuffs, but they had some foul liquid poured over. They are putrefying, now. The smell is horrendous. "We need to determine what was originally in these crates. While food seems likely, it could be that weapons, drugs, or magical artifacts were stored here too..." Raydon sighs. "And if there is a trace of such things, we must determine that. Shall we get to work? Does everyone have gloves?" =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Exhaust=========================================
========<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery - Round 3 *>========= ==========================< Results - Spoiled Stores >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 13 --(16)--> 29 Fail Spectral Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Just The Right Tool 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 45 --(20)--> 65 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Stupify(2)|Weaken(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"You are rather calm given our intrusion, I must say!" The Professor comments as Ethius more or less continues to do whatever it is he's doing, in a poor attempt to just walk away.
"I am accustomed to strong smells of--"
"Yes, because of your having lived here, this has been established! And I must say, I commend your fortitude and your commitment to having made yourself presentable at such short notice for our uninvited intrusion!"
Ethius meets Citan's sheepish smile and shake os his head, met with his lack of smile and a shake of his head, which cannot be a denial of this gesture because when gestures match they must be on the same page and Ethius cannot possibly be fed up about any of this.
Citan earns the most clear understanding of all: everything is here is rancid, this place has been long since abandoned and nothing of value is left, and really everyone can rest easy that this storage room is of no further relevance, nor desirability, for further investigation.
"...I will be going to meet your... assistant who stood guard," Ethius says as he blatantly walks out the proper door, visibly and audibly walks around to the other side to the way the others got in, and takes in a very deep breath.
"I have returned." He says these words in a far more wooden tone than usual. He looks over to Citan and says, "I am certain your other assistant has thus exhausted all avenues of investigation--"
"Oh, hardly, since you're wearing gloves, may I trouble you to take one of those crates along with us?"
(palpable ellipses)
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ================<* CHALLENGE - Broken Lever and Sewer Bridges *>================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- "Now," the Professor says, as he leads the way into the dank, dark, and rather smelly sewers. There is a walkway, which is taller than the channels containing currents of filth-infused water. They move by at a fast current. "We would not want to fall into that. Unfortunately, we will need to cross--ah, but look there!" There is a drawbridge up ahead. A large, rusted metal plate is held on a hinge. Next to it stands a lever, which is also rusted. "That should lower the bridge and we can cross," Raydon says. "But the levers here tend to stick. Do be careful to not break it off, when you move it!" =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Tire========================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
It is possible that there is something in here that may lead to a clue about the criminals who had so-recently called these sewers home. But, as the full force of the smell wafts -- no, pulses -- out of the opened crate, it's an open question about whether it would be worth finding.
Covering his face with his sleeve, Citan draws back from the open crate, thereby signalling his retreat from this pursuit.
"Professor... I believe it is safe to say that no one has occupied this area in some time. Perhaps it was being used as a safehouse?" he ventures, turning only as Ethius again announces his appearance... from the broken-down wall. Citan raises an eyebrow. It stays raised when Raydon barely bats an eye about what has occured and suggests that Ethius carry one of the crates.
"Ah, well. Do you believe it would be necessary? Perhaps," Citan suggests, "after we have continued our sweep of this area of the sewers."
One expects some amount of foul odor in a sewer, to be certain, but this is... a bit much.
It's with some relief that he emerges out into the merely mildew-smelling hallway, their pathway -- with the Professor leading the charge -- taking them towards one of the channels.
It's a different sort of bad smell that awaits them here.
It's also where the pathway ends. There's no clear means across the channel, and as Raydon says, falling in would not be recommended. "Perhaps if we were to double back--"
But there's a lever up ahead, right next to a rusted metal bridge, still in the raised condition. "Aha, I see! So if we were to lower the drawbridge..."
The problem is that the lever sticks. Citan squats by it, investigating the device with a careful eye (and adjustment of his glasses). He reaches out give it a gentle tug. "Yes... if we applied too much force here, it may simply break! Now, I wonder..." He's pulled out that acupressure manual again, referencing a different page.
"Hmm... I see. It is not unlike a stubborn joint. So with a lighter touch..."
And he taps the lever in a few key points after a moment more, directing force in light pulses.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Acupressure Guide toward his party's challenge, Broken Lever and Sewer Bridges.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius, he who carries the Stank Crate, and honestly this is not the foulest thing he has ever carted around 'just because,' sets it down as there's the presentation of a simple walkway bridge, with a simple rusted metal lever with a clearly stated function. To his trained(?) eye, there is no nonsense to be had about this. It is connected to the drawbridge, when it is lowered they will be able to continue the route.
To Ethius, who has been made the fool a few times over throughout both investigations, and doubtless he will return again by fan demand by some contrived circumstance, looks to the gentle tapping of the lever.
"While I am loath to speak up over and second guess a Prodessor," Ethius remarks as he looks at this drawbridge with what must be a reacquainting with an encroaching sense of dread he has not had in some time, "have we come across a problem so simple that it can be taken at face value?"
He says this as he has a hand on the lever to pull once Citan does a few meaningful taps to dislodge the rust. "If I am to engage in imagination, of which I do not have much of a track record, this is going to end up revealing an entire extra vertical level of sewer atop sewer rather than be a mere bridge, to some matter of discovery you may have already surmised by the smallest clues I have not been privy to."
The words of a man who cannot come into acceptance about what genre he has fallen into.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Broken Lever and Sewer Bridges.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ================<* CHALLENGE - Broken Lever and Sewer Bridges *>================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- "Now," the Professor says, as he leads the way into the dank, dark, and rather smelly sewers. There is a walkway, which is taller than the channels containing currents of filth-infused water. They move by at a fast current. "We would not want to fall into that. Unfortunately, we will need to cross--ah, but look there!" There is a drawbridge up ahead. A large, rusted metal plate is held on a hinge. Next to it stands a lever, which is also rusted. "That should lower the bridge and we can cross," Raydon says. "But the levers here tend to stick. Do be careful to not break it off, when you move it!" =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Tire========================================
========<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery - Round 4 *>========= ==================< Results - Broken Lever and Sewer Bridges >================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 29 --(8)--> 37 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Acupressure Guide 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 65 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Stupify(1)|Tire(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
It's hard to say which smells worse, the sewer water or the Stank Crate.
(It's the Stank Crate.)
In any case, this is not a great place in which to stand for overlong, yet haste makes waste: too much force, and they'll be worse off than when they began. "If I but had some rust remover," Citan does lament. "Or, perhaps, some lubricant." But he shakes his head, and instead, does what he can to improve the rust situation and/or loosen the switch enough that it /can/ be pulled.
At length, he stands. "That may be all that I can do," he says to the both of them, then glances between Ethius and Raydon. He does not say a word.
"That would be rather unprecedented!" Raydon remarks, reaching over to simply pull the lever (which does not stick) as the drawbridge clunks into place. "Imagine, an entire level of sewer...! Come now, and do bring the crate with you!"
The fact that Citan is already crossing the bridge, thereby putting as much distance between himself and the crate (and eventually the waterway), may be an understandable action.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ===========<* CHALLENGE - Abandoned Training Grounds - Arrow Trap *>============ |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Professor Raydon hesitates as he comes to a stairwell leading downward. "We should be careful," he says. "I've found several instances of abandoned places used by these folks in the past. Sometimes, they have dangerous traps awaiting. So... let us take a moment and collect ourselves, before we head down there." Once all of you do, though, you find the stairwell leads into a small area that once acted as a training ground. The stone has a straw mat on the floor -- and a trio of well-worn training dummies are nearby. There is graffiti on the wall: showing a stylized black dragon, almost painted like calligraphy. The Shadow Dragon, some of you may know. "Ah--be careful! There are traps built into the floors and--" Raydon's eyes widen. "--and the door, too late! Everyone, get down, now!" There are several loud 'thwocks,' as slits in the walls open. Arrows begin firing -- criss-crossing and shooting about the room. They could well stick everyone unless you hurry to get out of their way. The Professor is already using a gem to blow wind gusts at some to knock them backward. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"Professor!" Comes another voice... from the other end of a room beyond a stairwell. Hey, it's... a guard. He looks like a gate guard. He looks like a terrible gate guard, because the gate is nowhere near here. In fact he's further ahead from the gate than these three, and they don't work here as gate guards.
"Oh! It is good to see you." He spreads his arms out wide. "I am proud to announce my investigations have been fruitful and am appreciative of your cooperation in allowing my esteemed pupils and myself within your place of vigil. We have found vital clues!"
"We have--" Ethius finds himself shushed, and he complies and Citan can see that the man is capable of rolling his eyes. Like it might pull something, for it's a gesture he hasn't practiced in a long time. (it does)
"Excellent, Professor!" The guard says. "You will receive your pay."
"But I must report my findings to you, of course, as a gentleman does as part of the employment agreement." The Professor pulls at his top hat. "Getting in was indeed a bit of a tribulation..."
"Thank you for returning the key." The guard says. "I can keep hold of the place until the Guard are able to come make their sweep, once I see to whoever else was in here with you. Please leave the goods where you are."
The Professor smiles. "Well! I must say you do your job very well, professionally and to the letter."
"It is what a guard does!"
"Why, the gate never even had a proper lock to begin with!" The Professor smiles. Ethius blinks.
"...What?"
"You must have overheard us speaking to someone within here! Someone that perhaps should have been within here, as though you have expected a rendezvous."
The Guard goes quieter.
"That perhaps they had access to something in which you lacked, or could not find. You see, perhaps there was an expectation of you that you could not fulfill, and not seek out one directly knoweldgeable otherwise... and you have been following us through another parallel system!"
Ethius looks to Citan and is all but pleading with his eyes that he is not in the middle of a ridiculous pile-up of motivations and moving parts spanning countless years and circumstances being 'just so' to lead to this.
With this, the Professor points dramatically. "You are no guard!"
The Guard, in a panic, slaps something and bolts, and the room ahead becomes a deathtrap.
"...Oh, he left before I could point out the shape of the black dragon on the nearby wall. Hm. I imagine he would have liked to have heard that." He holds a wind gem aloft to direct gusts of air to try and cleave a path through projectiles. "Now why would they have a chamber dedicated to ending each others' lives?"
Ethius, for his part, just slams a staff with jingly bits on the ground, and the haunting echo sees just everything stop - as if it were, for once, a direct extension of him simply being Done(tm).
...Well. They'd still have to leave.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Staff of Audience toward his party's challenge, Abandoned Training Grounds - Arrow Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
The gate guard is here. That is itself a very strange thing, because here is absolutely nowhere near where the gate to the sewer had been -- or where another would be. Citan pauses, as if taking this fact into account, when Professor Raydon greets the guard. At this juncture, he remains silent, as if to see where this leads.
...The key? That would have taken some doing, considering the key which they had left behind was...
Something, nearly imperceptable, shifts in Citan's expression.
Aha.
Now he understands. All of this had been...!
"Of course. There was no missing key, or any necessary key whatsoever. And, when you acted as if Mister Hesiod were another, it was to instead mislead...!"
Ethius will not find any sort of safe harbor in Citan Uzuki.
This is also the point when the jig, as they say, is up for the 'guard' and he slaps a nearby wall panel. "Look out!" barks Citan, producing from a pocket a shimmering pale blue sphere. A certain sound resounds through the chamber in this same moment as the path below grows slick with ice, as wind cleaves missiles, and Citan darts forward to slide towards the far door.
"I would hazard that the reason is quite simple, Professor. These were no mere criminals!"
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Macalania Sphere toward his party's challenge, Abandoned Training Grounds - Arrow Trap.
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ===========<* CHALLENGE - Abandoned Training Grounds - Arrow Trap *>============ |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Professor Raydon hesitates as he comes to a stairwell leading downward. "We should be careful," he says. "I've found several instances of abandoned places used by these folks in the past. Sometimes, they have dangerous traps awaiting. So... let us take a moment and collect ourselves, before we head down there." Once all of you do, though, you find the stairwell leads into a small area that once acted as a training ground. The stone has a straw mat on the floor -- and a trio of well-worn training dummies are nearby. There is graffiti on the wall: showing a stylized black dragon, almost painted like calligraphy. The Shadow Dragon, some of you may know. "Ah--be careful! There are traps built into the floors and--" Raydon's eyes widen. "--and the door, too late! Everyone, get down, now!" There are several loud 'thwocks,' as slits in the walls open. Arrows begin firing -- criss-crossing and shooting about the room. They could well stick everyone unless you hurry to get out of their way. The Professor is already using a gem to blow wind gusts at some to knock them backward. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
========<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery - Round 5 *>========= =============< Results - Abandoned Training Grounds - Arrow Trap >============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 37 --(8)--> 45 Pass Staff of Audience 4 Agility Effects: nothing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 13 --(8)--> 21 Pass Macalania Sphere 3 Agility Effects: Rally -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ethius Hesiod 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(1)|Slow(2)|Tire(1) Effects: ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Ethius Hesiod has successfully explored Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery!
=============<* Professor Raydon and the Meribia Sewers Mystery *>============== ===========<* CHALLENGE - Evidence - The Blue Master's Involvement *>=========== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The danger passed, Professor Raydon takes a good look about the room. He is exhaustive -- investigating every nook and cranny, every little piece of ephemera, and anything that stands out. He takes down copious notes as he works. When he finishes, he stands upright, and mops at his brow with a handkerchief. "This... is troubling," Professor Raydon says, softly, as he stands upright. In his hand, he holds a piece of paper. "I found several letters from the late Blue Master Lunn. I thought rumors that he might have ties to criminal elements are unlikely. And yet... look at this. This is evidence that he interacted with these individuals." Raydon shakes his head. "We have much to investigate, still, and not just here. I advise caution, friends -- it seems likely that the Blue Master's involvement could entail cooperation with other elements of the Church of Althena. We need to have an ironclad case, before we make our accusations. Still... if you find anything else, please keep this in mind. And I'll be sure to let all of you know where my investigations take me next." =Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Once everyone's out of the element of trying to keep up with the latest plot development and more in the element of lightning-fast, do-or-die, high-stakes action, it becomes clear that the pupils are now the ones in the spotlight.
...Citan is. Ethius has more or less washed his hands of it, metaphorically. Physically he still has the small crate. Why is he still carrying it? Never mind him.
Citan is the first one to slide into the other side safely, and can disable the traps the same way the 'guard' did just easy and allow the others over, as Professor Raydon tips his hat. "The reason is simple! I do agree, they were no mere criminals. No, they were quite good. No matter how simple the puzzle, it can remain enjoyable to deconstruct!" He goes back to his little logic games in his head once the mortal danger has passed. "I must say, you have been a most excellent pupil! I would very much like to stay in contact should you consider lending out your time and services, but first..."
He investigates. Ethius continues to stand there with Stank Crate because no one has told him to put it down and has not written out the possibility there is another layer to all of this.
The Professor's expression hardens. "This... is troubling," the joy of life fading from his voice as a greater weight falls upon his tongue, holding up a piece of paper. "I have acquired several letters from the late Blue Master Lunn. I thought rumors that he might have ties to criminal elements are unlikely. And yet... look at this." He shows the two of them.
"This is evidence that he interacted with these individuals."
Ethius is suddenly there to have a look, and Raydon seems nonplussed by this sudden enthusiasm but brushes it off as his just his strange returning pupil being themselves. "We have much to investigate, still, and not just here. I advise caution, friends -- it seems likely that the Blue MAster's involvement could entail cooperation with other elements of the Church of Althena."
He yanks the letters back from Ethius' hand. It's an impressive feat, Citan can tell that Ethius makes the beginning motions to 'subtly' turn around and evade repossession only for the Professor to be faster on the draw.
"We need to have an ironclad case, before we make our accusations. Still... if you find anything else, please keep this in mind. And I'll be sure to let all of you know where my investigations take me next."
Beat. "The crate is of no further consequence. You can consider that a bonus if you would like, you did appear enamored!"
Ethius, with Stank Crate, just nods the once. He has some other gears turning in his head about it all, but nonetheless, he looks to Citan one last time as if to say, 'yes, this is over, I am leaving.'
If Citan would like, Professor Raydon would be happy to discuss an eclectic array of topics.
Such as whether a tropical fruit found upon the fabled land of Spira is an appropriate garnish on a cheese and tomato-based recipe, and that ilk.