(Adventure) The Burning Tower (Knight Otu Judging) [Concluded]

[SlagMortar]

Nars finally speaks up after letting the others express their opinions. "I think Persephone's idea is a good one. My first thought was, perhaps the, ah, black squares point out spots in the wall where one could pass through without getting injured. If we, ah, con-solidated the black along the bottom, perhaps we could roll under the barrier.

OOC: This probably only works if there are dead spots in the wall corresponding to the black squares. My understanding is that the flames in the wall are in the same position as the red squares and the ice in the wall is the same position as the white squares. What's in the position of the black squares?

 

[Dalamar]

After a moment of taking in the things that have happened since he was knocked out, Rodimus mutters a gruff "owe you one" to Ishmael. Not really one to understand anything about matters arcane, he lots the others try to solve the riddle.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

'Unlocking Fire and Ice from their mutual deadlock might also unleash the full force of these elemental wards, likely incinerating and shockfrosting the whole floor to deadly effect if the towers previous traps are considered.'

Carefully studying the panel once more he concludes
'A riddle of life and death. Most interesting indeed!'

Fant pauses in her labors. "What a lovely thought." She sighs, resisting the urge, born of misdirected frustration, to glare at the elf. It did not do to discourage thinking in one's subordinates. She considers. "On the one hand, such a result strikes me as too destructive; all the previous traps, while certainly deadly, would not have inflicted significant damage on the structure itself. On the other hand, perhaps the mere seperation of the elements is intended to be the obvious solution, luring any thief to use it and either setting off another trap or lulling him into a false sense of security as he walks through the still-deadly barrier." As she speaks, she makes two lines of red, two lines of white, and a line of black- Nar's suggested configuration- to see if there's any result, and then tries to see if she can form any sort of sigil with either the sparks of opposition or simply with the colors- an "R" for starters. They can always try seperation after experimenting for a while.

 

[Patlin]

Working on the riddle

Fant manipulates the pannel into the configuration Nars suggested, with the black all on the bottom. While not especially demanding of though, it is a time consuming process. Unfortunately, no gap in the wall forms, and it seems the pannel does not directly correspond to the energies of the wall. A sizzling line of energy pulses along the border of the now aligned red and white squares.

 

[IcyCool]

Gorefoot - Gnome Barbarian 1

Gorefoot sits down with his back to a wall to rest. He mutters a quiet "Thanks." to Ishmael for the healing. With his anger spent and nothing to contribute towards the puzzle solving, he closes his eyes, just for a moment.

 

[Zweischneid]

Fant manipulates the pannel into the configuration Nars suggested, with the black all on the bottom. While not especially demanding of though, it is a time consuming process. Unfortunately, no gap in the wall forms, and it seems the pannel does not directly correspond to the energies of the wall. A sizzling line of energy pulses along the border of the now aligned red and white squares.

'Try as I might, I cannot think of any other logical solution but to seperate the Ice from the Fire completely.'
Morulas sighs, crouching next to Fant and studying the dull black panelboards.

'If the key to this ward is a particular rune or pattern formed by this panel, and no other hint could be found in this room, we will likely never divine it in our lifetime'
the long-living elf adds, his curved eyes carefully scanning the room for anything they might have missed in the desperate fight and the agitation afterwards. ((Spot + 5 / Search +6))

Finding nothing ((I suppose)), with a fainting voice he whispers.
'Lets hope than, that Rilithorne didn't trust his elemental trap too much either, and that the most obvious solution is also the correct one.'

 

[Patlin]

'Try as I might, I cannot think of any other logical solution but to seperate the Ice from the Fire completely.'

With some trepaditation, the black squares are moved up two positions each, seperating the red and whit squares and extinguishing the sparks running between them. For a moment, nothing happens, then the wall of fire and ice fades away revealing doors in walls to the northeast and nortwest.

 

[Manzanita]

Persephone

"Yes!" shouts Persephone, throwing up her arms and pumping her fists.

She slaps Fant on the back. "Not bad for a princess, eh? And by the way, call me 'Percy,' please. That goes for all of you."

 

[Dalamar]

Rodimus does a quick roll of his eyes, muttering "...call her Perky 'stead..."
He then flexes his arms and moves closer to the opening, waiting for the others.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"Excellent." Fant again readies her shield and draws her sword, pointing it at the northwest door. "Same procedure as before. If Nars can't open it, Gorefoot will."