NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PhoenixAsh" data-source="post: 2815246" data-attributes="member: 18230">Update #30: Irritating Illusions"Aha, an orange one!" Dox produces an orange keystone from the pocket of his newly acquired cloak, made of darkweave, a material that makes the already elusive changling even harder to spot in the shadowy halls of the Cannith facility. "This is what it's all supposed to be about," Alexandre muses, running his fingertips through the platinum pieces the Irregulars discovered using the brown keycharm in the room adjacent to Rorsa's former shelter.  "Any of those weapons there magic Ruel?" "Not at all," Ruel replies, his eyes losing the arcane luster of Detect Magic.  "Neither is the silver ring, nor any of the armor.  The keystones have a mild conjuration effect, those two vials house oils of Magic Weapon and that one there is an elixir of Silversheen.  Oh, and the closet has a combination of simple magical enchantments.  I would suppose it keeps the clothes clean." Elisa is gathering up the myriad arms and armor displayed in the room.  Examining a chain shirt briefly she shrugs off her old armor and dons it instead.   "It fits better," Elisa offers by way of explanation, “And you never know when you might need more weapons.”  Loki nods, stepping forward and picking up one of the swords, "We can always sell them.  They look of fine make.” The party files out of the room after collecting everything of value to try their new keycharm, and Ruel departs last, re-pocketing the pearl from Rorsa’s chain with a grin.  It radiated a magical aura as well. ***With the orange keycharm in hand, the Irregulars are able to make their way into a new circular chamber, with a whole new set of five separate colored depressions.  Dox tests out one of the orange depressions along the circumference of the central sphere and the chamber turns, opening to reveal a corridor brightly lit in a flickering multi-hued menagerie of color.  The corridor bends and despite its walls, floor and ceiling being covered with reflective mirrors, the Irregulars cannot spot the source of the prismatic display.Dox inches forward, stepping with extreme care, trying not only to be mindful of keeping his footsteps silent and out of sight, but also to keep his reflection from revealing his presence to anything around the bend of the hall.  Before moving into the mirrored portion of the hallway he checks the reflections for abnormalities, tossing a silver coin on the floor and checking each mirrors reflection for anything unusual.  With nothing unwelcome befalling him, he steps into the mirrored area.  Slithering out along the wall he can see the source of the light: a glowing mass of rainbow light hovering in front of a fully mirrored room with a curtain blocking sight of the far end.  He shifts back quickly to keep out of sight.  It occurs to him that he is being unusually silent, even for him.  Carefully he taps the mirror and it makes no sound.  He kicks it, still no sound.  Backing out of the room, he returns to the circular chamber where the Irregulars are still huddled.“It’s a ball of light.  And that whole corridor and the room beyond it are mirrored up, except for the far wall that had a curtain over it.  And the room is silent, I couldn’t hear anything when I moved or tapped the wall.” Dox reports.“Ball of light?  Huh, sounds a bit like that blob of fire I dealt with.” Loki comments.“Perhaps,” Ruel nods.  “I would suspect that some sort of prismatic magical effect is contained in that ball you describe Dox.  This could be very dangerous, prismatic effects can be potent, even a simple Color Spray is a favored spell of mine for disabling a quantity of opponents at close range.  Also, I suspect these mirrors may be able to amplify any such effect.”“Perhaps we could lure it out then?” Audric asks.“I believe I may have just such a solution,” Ruel agrees.Ruel recites from a scroll outside the Silence effect and ahead in the chamber a sizeable beetle bursts into being.  It quickly rounds the corner, seeking to engage the blob of light beyond it.  There is a surge of color and the Irregulars squint.  “Definitely Color Spray,” Ruel reports, loading his crossbow.  The Irregulars train their weapons on the turn of the corridor, but after several seconds the ball of light does not show signs of approaching.Audric lowers his heavy crossbow with a sigh, “It is either some sort of guardian or simply unwilling to leave the room.”Alexandre smirks, “Probably likes staring at its reflection too much.”Loki hefts his greataxe and strides into the hall, “Time to change that.”The massive half-giant swings his axe heavily into the first wall-mirror in the corridor.  Surprisingly, it does not shatter, merely denting under the impact.  The sound is absent from the powerful blow, though Loki can clearly feel the ringing in his arms from the impact.  He moves back to the circular chamber, grousing, “Aren’t there other ‘orange’ chambers we can try?”A chorus of agreement is voiced and Dox immediately places the orange keystone in the central depression and twists it.  The whole chamber lurches sharply to the opposide side and the everbright lantern suddenly winks out above them, a large pit opening under the feet of the Irregulars!Dox clutches the keystone pedestal, Loki braces himself against the floor and ceiling of the chamber, Ruel slips but grabs onto Loki’s boot, Audric balances himself perfectly on the suddenly inclined sphere, as does Alexandre, while Elisa stumbles forward but braces herself at the last moment over the edge of the pit using her greatsword to keep from tipping in.The crew takes a collective breath before Dox pipes up, “Everyone okay?”A bright flare causes the Irregulars to blink as Ruel lights a sunrod.  “It would appear so,” the wizard replies, shifting to the edge of the pit and peering down, he sees it is filled with liquid thirty feet down.  He hands the sunrod up to Dox then strikes up a torch and tosses it at the surface of the liquid.  Unsurprisingly, it is extinguished.The Irregulars elect Dox once again to move forward and explore the pit.  With a rope tied around his waist held steadily by Loki and Elisa, Dox gradually descends towards the surface of the water, checking for any signs of another exit.Several minutes of examination and the sore arms of the two Irregulars result in the discovery that the pit is no more than a well.  The Irregulars turn the circular chamber back to the only road forward for them: the corridor with the prismatic ball of light.Ruel considers, “Look here, if we surround it, if four of us rush in and surround it on different sides… it can only spray one of us.  The spell is not harmful in the long-term after all, I think the rest could destroy it.”Audric frowns, “But what of the mirrors?  What if they amplify the effect as you said?”Ruel shrugs, “Close your eyes?”With no better alternative in mind, the Irregulars make ready to charge the creature, Ruel first casting Mage Armor on Audric.  Raising his thinblade, Alexandre shouts a silent battle cry and surges forward, stabbing at the center of the mass of prismatic light with perfect accuracy.  Unfortunately, it has all the effect on the mass of sticking a pin into jelly.  Audric marks this as he moves in behind the deckhand and his curiosity gets the better of him as he continues through the room just beyond the curtain.The sight is oddly blurred, as if peering through foggy glass; all details are hazy.  He blinks away the image of what looks disturbingly like a multi-headed metal beast and returns his attention to the mirrored room and its guardian.  “One thing at a time,” he reminds himself.Dox and Ruel move to the edge of the corridor, loosing an arrow and a bolt at the blob, which seem to do it no harm when they strike it.  Elisa is next, running past Alexandre and to one side of the ball, striking it two-handed with her greatsword.  The blow is powerful, but clearly not as telling as it should.  Still flecks of it are shredded from the central mass and Elisa is heartened that her weapon can harm it.  Loki is last but in the cramped room his axe stroke is wide, failing to even connect with the blob of light.The blob ripples with color and expels a sudden wash of it upon Elisa, bathing her in dazzling light.  The Irregulars immediately re-double their attacks, Alexandre’s weapons continue to be ineffective, while Audric comes back through to call out the contents of the room behind the curtain, only to be foiled from his warning by the magical Silence, its effect extending even to the curtained entryway.  More arrows and bolts fly and continue to be ineffective.“That really wasn’t too bad,” Elisa thinks, blinking away a few dark spots in her vision. Her vision swam for half a second, but she can see just fine now.  She hefts her greatsword in a massive overhand swing, angling the attack just enough so her blade doesn’t scrape the mirrored ceiling in the cramped cell.  The blob distorts as her attack connects, bending like a gelatinous bladder in the center until it pops, prismatic gore spraying across the Irregulars and the mirrors.  “Not too bad at all,” she smirks, flicking gobs of goo off of her face.The Irregulars attempt to communicate with hand signals and gestures in the Silenced room.  Ruel plucks one of the colorful pieces of the destroyed blob his person and puts it into a new sack, satisfied that this time he will be able to study the creature later.  Noticing Audric gesture to the curtained room ahead, he moves through it to investigate.He steps into a large, domed room and ahead of him he can see a massive machine, with all the appearance of a large mechanical hydra.  Thankfully, it appears inert.  The room is fire-blasted and some of what appears to be the source of that damage remains in the room.  Two roaring fires are moving with a mind of their own, Ruel swiftly recognizes them as fire elementals.And one of them is moving towards him.Ruel throws his arms up as the elemental bears down on him, immediately regretting using his Mage Armor spell on Audric.  The elemental is taking an oddly zig-zagging pattern, as if navigating invisible walls while approaching him.  But certain enough it moves towards him and Ruel calls out in alarm.It passes right through him.Blinking, Ruel turns and watches the elemental proceed on its winding path.  There was no heat and no contact.  “An illusion,” the wizard murmurs with relief, “And perhaps… a divination?”  The wall distorts, rippling behind him and Ruel whirls.  Dox comes charging in the room at his alarmed call, drawing his blade and charging after the elemental.  A few feet past Ruel he runs headlong into a solid barrier, apparently in mid-air and falls flat, dazed.Ruel approaches Dox and helps him to his feet.  “The room, it is an illusion.  But I believe it is also an image of one of the rooms in this facility, or a very similar one.”Dox rubs his head as he gathers himself back up, whirling around with a perplexed expression on his face, “But… what… how did I…?”“It would appear this chamber is actually much smaller than what we see, we should be cautious.” Ruel answers.Elisa and Audric move in quickly behind Dox, but a hasty explanation from the pair already inside arrest any more sudden contact with invisible walls.  Elisa, Audric and Ruel begin carefully feeling out the circumference of the chamber, while Dox stares hard at his surroundings.  He shakes his head, murmuring, “I just don’t get it.  Why would somebody make something like this?”Elisa laughs, “You’re a changling!  You look like other people all the time!  You’re just jealous that a room got the better of you for once!”Dox eyes the guardswoman darkly for a moment before moving to give the room a more thorough search.The changling’s careful examination reveals the room is circular, no more than a quarter as large as the rectangular chamber the four Irregulars are viewing.  Aside from the inert multi-headed mechanical monstrosity at the head of the room, the larger room holds two back chambers, one of which is destroyed and burned by fire while the other is sealed behind a crystalline wall, housing a small library and desk.  Two levers are prominent, of unknown purpose, at either side of the large chamber and underneath the mechanical hydra a crystalline box is seated.  Dox can just make out what can only be the schema Elaydren described, as well as several other arcane-appearing items within.“That’s got to be what we’re looking for!  I’ll bet we’re close!” He exclaims.  “Wish we kept that scroll you used on Loki though, those fires could be tricky.”Ruel nods, “Agreed, but we still need to find the red keycharm before we can proceed any further.”Dox studies the room one more time.  One of the mechanical hydra’s mouths is ajar, curiously pained red.  Squinting at it, he sees it is not paint, but actually a red keystone placed on the invisible wall.  He steps forward, but hesitates to grab it.  Ruel did say it was just an illusion, but that maw looks all too real and it has really sharp looking teeth.  Canting his head, he sees Elisa watching him with a smirk on her face.  He reaches down and quickly grabs it, turning to hold it up with a triumphant grin, “Found it!”“Nicely done!” Ruel exclaims.  “Come, let us move on.Dox twirls the keycharm around one finger, then reaches down to pocket it.  His hand connects with something solid instead however, a lever, which he accidentally pushes down.  The room distorts and all the Irregulars tense, reaching for their weapons.  The illusion, however, merely fades away, revealing smooth stone and several other levers with colored keystone depressions behind Dox.  Colors the Irregulars do not yet have.“Yeah, good job, looks like you unmasked the room,” Elisa chuckles, moving up beside Dox.  “There are more colors, maybe we aren’t as close as we thought,” she reasons.“Perhaps, or perhaps these other colors represent other facilities.  This could be valuable information to Lady d’Vown,” Ruel considers.Elisa raises an eyebrow, “Bonus pay?”“Precisely,” Ruel smiles.With a new spring in their step, the Irregulars depart the chamber to rejoin the rest and to try the red keycharm in the circular chamber.  After bracing themselves for any other sudden surprises, they twist the keystone into one of the slots and the chamber rotates to reveal a new passageway.  It is immediately apparent that this one is warm, and as they step out towards a large metal door, it begins to become uncomfortably so.Alexandre draws his thinblade and dagger, “Twenty to one your fire beasties are behind these doors.”“No bet,” Audric nods, loading his heavy crossbow.  The Irregulars all ready their weapons and Loki kicks the door open.</blockquote>

Verification