The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers

[Jack Simth]

"A book of Mastery? It is worth much trouble to obtain such a tome. And yes, I would prefer such a tome over the sphere, as the sphere would hamper my own movement, which I consider very valuable."

"As for the golem, subtlity wasn't needed; we were herded here, so you already knew we were coming. The stealth of a subtle attack would have been quite pointless. However, the speed of a noisy solution was useful. Wisdom lies in knowing which tool is most appropriet to the situation."

Jack stops speaking, and thinks:
.elbissopmi krow 'srotitepmoc sih ekam dluoc ti ,niaga neht ;tluciffid erom krow sih ekam dluow tI ?ytilibatS fo erehpS a htiw tnaw egam noitamina na dluow tahW .ytlaiceps sih eb ot mees soed noitamina tub - srood lanoisnemid dna gnitropelet eht htiw tahw ,dezilaiceps yllatot t'nsi egam eht ylsuoivbO ?egam noitamina na eb siht dluoC .deilppa eb ot ti rof tiaw neve t'ndid ti ;noitulos a dah ew ees dluoc ti sa noos sa delf rood eht dna ,ecneserp ruo ot dednopser melog eht ,efil gnissap fo sulumits eht ot dednopser spart eht :tca yllamron tonnac taht sgniht ot ytivitca gnitnarg tuoba erew ereh deretnuocne ew slleps eht tsoM ?cigam tsuj naht rehtruf sezilaiceps egam siht taht eb ti dluoC .ylkciuq stcurtsnoc tnemtnahcne egral fo yteregetni eht gniyfiyrev rof euqinhcet ralimis a esu I .tsiser taht secalp rof gnihctaw dna retfa yletaidemmi gniwollof evaw retnuoc a htiw egnahc ronim yltnatropminu fo evaw niht a tuo gnidnes fo rettam elpmis a s'tI ?tluciffid eb ytilibats gnitceted dluow yhW

ooc:[For those of you having migranes, that is perfectly sensible. Jack's strange (if you haven't noticed) and doesn't think in a manner compatible with mind reading (so the mage can't read Jack's mind). For those of you who don't want to take the time to puzzle it out, a translation can be found here. But that's cheating!]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
ooc:[does jack have to talk so much? ]

ooc:[YES! Of course he does! He has a lot to say! ]
ooc:[Seriously though, how many specialists don't have a lot to say when they are talking about some fine point of their specialty? Jack's specialty just happens to be magic and energy.]
ooc:[Also, even if Jack does get a good book on planar travel, he may very well need a different reference to be able to find the right plane to go to.]

[ June 11, 2003, 06:28: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[David E. Gervais]

(ooc: I'm still lurking people, think of me as having cast a 'veil of invisability' on my character. If need be, I'll wisper any comments to your characters.)

Jack, ma I lufrewop ro keew woh tuoba yrassecen si naht erom laever ot ton ,revewoh esoohc I .stra lacigam eht ni desrev llew ma oot I ,yrassecen si noitalsnart on

Jack, Narp,.. I was just thinking,.. if this 'Labyrnth' has 'Orbs of Stability' (which is a very powerful aftifact) there is a good chance that there will be much more 'treasure' to be found. Sure there will be dangers, but we are adventurers so danger is our profession. And just think of the tales we well be able to tell if we succeed. I say we fetch this wizard his orb and find out what other treasures we can liberate from the labyrnth.

Cheers!

[Jack Simth]

ooc:[David: .ekatpu eht no tsaf sa yliressecen si draob eht no enoyreve ton tub ,sey]

[ June 11, 2003, 20:10: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[Jack Simth]

Having obtained Narp's, D's, and Jack's permission, the mage hands each a set of gloves and says"These gloves will allow you to move the spheres of stability once you reach them."
The mage then tosses Narp a small ring, and says
"Simply speak 'Cliff' at this ring when you are at the entryway, and I shall open a portal to bring you back."
With that, the mage gestures, and a portal appears on the ground in front of the party, and everyone steps through. (The mage can make another portal to transport Katchoo's character if the wolf wants to join.)

The party finds itself in a stone room, with an open archway on one side. Faint purple runes can be seen on the cieling, walls, and the arch. Jack looks at the doorway and says
"That's odd - the air isn't moving right in there."
Jack reaches into his robes, pulls out a small wooden disk, and tosses it through the doorway.

It stops in midair.

"Hmm. It seems we have a very stable situation in there. What makes this room different?"
Jack then proceeds to examine the walls, cieling, and doorframe.

ooc:[First task: figure out how to traverse the maze without suffering the same fate as that wooden disk. I have some ideas on how my character can make it happen, but I will give the rest of you some time to think of things.]

[ June 11, 2003, 20:12: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

narp steps close to the archway, but not in it and examines the disk intently. after several minutes, he pulls a stick out of his pack and pokes it hard alongside the disk. it stops. then he slowly pushes on it, and it slowly moves. pushes harder, and it stops. pushes lighter again, and it moves again. "hey guys" he says "come look at this. i'm not sure how you'd use this, but it isn't impenatrable."

ooc:[i got the idea from an actual substance that acts much the same way. side not on narp: he almost became a scholar, which is why he thinks first. i got an idea for the mage and the end of this quest that will turn him into someone we'll have to fight much later on, but it's a bit cliched. if anyone has any non-cliched ideas, i'll happily give it up. now that i revised it, i think it will go very well with what's been going on. should i post the idea?]

in a secret labratory, the mage smiles to himself and says "i wonder if he knows just how uncreative your average wizard is. fireballs and lightning bolts, that's all most of them think about." he chuckles to himself. then he turns his attention to a three dimensional picture in the middle of his room. it's patchy and fuzzy and will probably get worse, but since he's got a spell to record it all as well as a well-trained memory, he's confident.

[ June 12, 2003, 00:02: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Jack Simth]

"Yes, yes we can. These runes on the wall produce a destabilization field that locally counters the stabalization effect of the spheres. The only thing I was having a little difficulty figuring out was how to get it the two feet into the stabilization field so they would activate."

Jack pulls another wooden disk out of his robes. He then sets it in the air in front of him [variation on a levitation spell - not in the field] and points his hand at it. Thin green glowing strands of energy jump from each of his fingers, collide in mid-air, and then proceed towards the wooden disk. Where they have hit the disk, glowing runes can be seen. On close examination, the lines forming the runes seem to be made up of runes themselves. The disk starts rotating and, after several minutes, becomes completely covered in glowing green runes. At that point, the glowing strands from Jack's hand stop, and the runes settle into the wood of the disk. Jack then repeats the process with two more little wooden disks from his robes. He then tosses them into the arch again, borrows Narp's stick, and gently shoves then deep into the maze. After a moment, all four disks (the three Jack enchanted plus the experimental one) fall to the ground. Jack then pushes the stick into the area, and, satisfied by a total lack of resistance, walks in and calmly picks up one of the enchanted disks and the unenchanted one, putting both into different pockets of his robes.

"You will have to come in here to get them - if they leave the stabalized area we'll have to use the stick again to get them back up and running."

"It's odd though - those runes weren't covered by anything; anyone walking by could read them. It seems like whoever built this place is more worried about something getting out than someone getting in."

ooc:[How about the place was built to contain a threat that the mage dosen't know about - after all, why would someone leave several ludicrously powerful artifacts sitting around in a maze, unless it serves some function to do so? There has to be some reason. If they individually slow things enough to stick a coin in the air, perhaps several of them focus enough to stop things completely, perpeptually preventing disaster by containing something. That way, we can report back to him empty-handed, or fight off the contained threat, or discover that the mage doesn't really care about the spheres at all - he just wants the threat released, believing it will do his bidding / be grateful and grant him something. All three would work, and they aren't too cliched; which would you prefer? How long do you think the mage will be able to watch us? After all, if scrying worked well, the mage would have provided us a map so we would stand a better chance of success.]

ooc:[As to the substance you mention - are you referring to Silly Putty?]

ooc:[As to the thread's name - perhaps "The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers?"]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

ooc:[well, i was thinking the maze could contain an artifact powered by a sphere of change, which would be usefull given his alteration skills, would explain stabilization effects in a dungeon, there containing it, and would explain why he's so intent on spheres of stability - distraction. how about an unstable sphere of change? the labrynth is keeping it stable, but the mage doesn't know that? ok, the second rooms gotta be a bit harder than the front...silly putty? couldn't remember what it was called.]

stepping through the doorway, the three are confronted by an odd sight: in a room that is ten feet wide and eighty feet long, agaist the right hand wall are three animated heads that look like dragon heads ten feet long - lizardlike and fanged. they appear to be made of sandstone. in the far left corner away from them is a door. to get to the door, the heads must be disabled. narp takes a few measered steps toward the first head. it waits until he is within it's reach and then dives toword him. narp is ready and jumps back while swinging cutting some teeth off. the teeth levitate back into place and seal themselves. D. comments "i think the animative force is behind the right wall, at least the walls heavily shielded. if the animative force is not attached to the heads, attacking them will do nothing to it. not to mention that the heads are magically shielded against dispel. the shielding comes from the base, so cutting parts off and casting dispel on them will probably work."
narp lunges forward and slices off an eye, then jumps back just ahead of the fangs. D. casts dispel on the eye, and it remains on the floor. the head turns so as to keep it's good eye on narp and moves back a bit. narp steps foword, the head moves back. another step, and the head dives for him and narp dodges to the side, hitting the wall. swinging his sword hard, narp cuts the front of it's mouth off, then drops to the floor as the head slams into the spot where he was. narp rolls toward toword the base of the head and starts hacking. the head doubles back with suprising swiftness, catching him in the back and slamming him against it's own base. thinking fast, narp wedges his sword between the base and the wall. the head jerks back, pulling his sword through. D. casts dispell while the whole thing falls down and smashes on the floor. beyond where the head was, narp finds a very servicable trianglular shield about two feet high and a foot and a half wide at the top next to a skeleton. "i could use this" he says, picking it up.

ooc:[the heads are sort of snake heads with teeth. i'm not sure i was clear. they cut easy because animated stone is softer than normal. or so most books seem to have it. each of them must be destroyed in a different manner, so there should be something to do for a bit. i imagine the mage will be able to watch us just long enough for it to be an interesting part of the plot. ]

[ June 21, 2003, 02:29: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Jack Simth]

"A common tactic for producing smart defenses is to take an impression of a real creature's essence to imprint in the spell. The advantage is a more intelligent golem produced very quickly that can learn. The disadvantage is that they keep to the habits of the source creature. If this is the case here.... Hmm, that next head looks like a male...."
"Belle L�zarde Faux"
At Jack's words, an (illusionary) scintillating dragoness enters the room from behind the party, and walks up to the next head along the line. Noticing that the head is thoroughly distracted, Narp cuts it off with his sword, and D dispells it.

Noticing its fallen companion, the final head successfully disbelieves the illusionary dragoness, and it fades away.

"That obviously won't work again. What to do with the third?"

Quick cutscene to the mage in his lair. The image is now much fuzzier. Watching the scene, the mage mutters to himself
"Interesting solution."

Back to the party...
"Hey - that next skeleton has a book...."
Jack quickly retrieves it with a levitation spell, and glances at the cover; the title reads Zeitliche Justagen.
"A book on time bending! This should be a good read."

Jack then quietly checks the book for curses. Finding none, he hides it in a pocket of his robes.

ooc:[Sounds like a decent plot.]

ooc:[It might not be Silly Putty - that is a brand name for an odd substance that will act like rubber if you act quickly on it, but can be readily molded. I also remember seeing a form that came in a pan which was much more liquid (it was also white in color). It's difficult for me to say which.]

ooc:[Sorry about giving your character actions, but he is the only one with a cutting weapon; D has only cast two different spells in this thread - dispel and a light spell on his staff - and my character has said he has no offensive spells yet - that pretty much leaves your sword.]

[ June 12, 2003, 07:52: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

ooc:[feel free to have narp swing his sword as many times as nessesary. he's good at that. idea for three: invulnerable to physical or magical damage, but not both at the same time. i just got to get creative and come up with words. having trouble thinking up stuff. we need more people to take on some of this plot stuff. ]

[ June 13, 2003, 05:34: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Jack Simth]

ooc:[We don't really have any way to deal magical damage (I could bake a clay golem with a hot sun, but I can't really do anything to stone without flooding the cavern), so that won't work well. Besides, we did that with the golem. However, we may be able to use one of the fallen heads to sneak a dispell past the defenses into the source behind the wall to cut off its supply of power, causing it to become normal stone. Like so:]

Jack notices that he can now get to the fallen first head without being in the range of the surviving third, and walks over to examine it more closely. After a few minutes, he says
"I think I know how we can unravel the enchantment now. It seems the defenses watch for spells coming from outside. We just need to put a delayed dispel into one of the heads, and repair it. After that, it will rejoin, the dispel will go off, and it will skip the defenses."
"Retarde Le Charme"
Jack puts his hands together and then draws them apart; as they separate, half of a small glowing green sphere can be seen between them.
"D, dispel this for me."
D casts dispel at the half-orb, but just before the dispel takes effect, the orb completes itself, encompassing the dispel-spell. Jack then places the glowing sphere into the mouth of the first fallen head, and closes it. He then taps his fingers together, and again, glowing green lines can be seen flowing between them. He quickly writes several runes on the severed head, then backs away.

The fallen head then rises and re-attaches itself to the wall. Jack smiles and incants
"D�gagement"
At that, the heads slow down, the glow leaves their eyes, and they are still.

"We should be able to proceed now."

[ June 13, 2003, 07:21: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]