Break of Dawn [Manzanita judging] COMPLETED

[B4cchus]

"You need the other half you say? I really thought i had researched this well enough but even the greatest minds make mistakes, so it seems. It would be difficult to get the other half of the amulet and take it to the shrine. I am afraid it's current not part with it but I will see what I can do but it will take some time.
The one who holds the first half does wish to remain incognito so i can't reveal any information about that.
How do you know that you need the other half? What did you encounter? I am really eager to hear every detail of your explorations!"

[sblock=Eanos]
Lord Gravens words seem truthful and do not contain any hidden message or restrained emotions. He seems very honest and truthfull.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Ally]
Lord Gravens words seem truthful and do not contain any hidden message or restrained emotions. He seems very honest and truthfull.
[/sblock]

ooc: I do not see any problems with Eanos taking on cleric levels except fr the restriction that he cannot take monk levels after starts multiclassing.

 

[Rystil Arden]

*Ally describes the rooms in the shrine with extensive attention to detail, including the cushions, the illusory birds, and many other elaborate truthful facts. When she gets to the final door, she also tells the truth, and she makes sure to do so in a favourable way:*

"The final central door was magically locked, with a fresco of druids and demons and devils all fighting. The dweomers of that place were quite powerful--and I should know, as I had a Detect Magic going at the time. It included a Major aura of Abjuration, which is so far beyond our league that it isn't even funny. There were some other details involving the secret Druidic language that I couldn't understand exactly, but thankfully Quarion was around. He never translated any of it exactly--I'm guessing that would violate the Druidic oath to never reveal the language to any outsider, but we were able to determine that we need the amulet to continue. Also, there's some sort of superstition among the ancient druids--they believed that the amulet was dangerous, which may be why they went to such precautions to safeguard it and require us to bring the other amulet half on our next expedition. However, it should be a reasonable open and shut case after that, as we have more or less cleared out the rest of trouble, save an Imp gatekeeper which has somehow or another taken over the entrance to the shrine. My guess is that with the amulet half, that will go differently though--the imp thing may have been a shortcircuit of some sort that is in place as a side-effect of the fact that devils and fell beasts have been trapped in the vicinity."

 

[B4cchus]

"That all sounds very interresting indeed! An imp you say? and devils? Those magical wards sound powerfull, yes. But what I still don't completely understand, is how bringing the other half will help. does it remove some protection you encountered? Surely there must be ways to circumvent such protections. One cannot expect such an ancient treasure not to be well protected or would have surely been taken before you arrived ans which is also why I send oyu to retrieve it: Because I was confident a group of brave adventurers should be able to think of a smart way to get the job done."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Remember, there was a strong aura of Abjuration. I'm not sure if you're aware of the theory of 'circles' of magic, so if not, I'll try to explain. There are 9 so-called circles of magic, plus the 0th pseudo-circle for minor cantrips and orisons. To give a bit of background--spells of the 9th circle are only wielded by the mightiest Archmages in stories. It is unclear if anyone in the entire world has access to such magics in our time. Personally, I can use spells of the 1st circle or lower, though I have been working hard to reach the 2nd and should be able to do so some day soon. Spells of the 3rd circle or lower have faint auras. Rilithorne, the most powerful Wizard in all of Orussus or its environs, can cast spells up to the 5th circle only. Spells of the 4th through 6th circles have a moderate aura. But this aura we found was a major aura, which means it was magic of the 7th through 9th circles. In my homeland of Medibaria, some of our worlds greatest Wizards attend the Academy of the Chromatic Order. One who has mastered spells of that magnitude would achieve the Academy's greatest honour, the title of Archmage. In the last fifty years, there have only been three to achieve the status of Archmage, and all are dead or missing."

"So with that in mind, you must understand that the magic and wards in place here must be considerable. There is a spell called Disjunction that might be able to do the trick in breaking them, but it is of the 9th circle. But the amulet is said to have power as well, presumably as much power as the wards used to safeguard it. Unless we can find that legendary spell Disjunction, the amulet half may be our only option. We can search for that spell too though if you have any leads, but since you said you know who has the other half, that seems like it would be easiest."

 

[Someone]

"I've heard about the circle theory, and I don't quite agre with it completely - it looks convenient, but I'm of the opinion that it's a bit artificial and rests on our inability to detect finer gradations of energy expenditure." says Odno, who gets carried away and momentarily dosnt realize this isnt the moment for erudite debates on magic theory. "Except for the case of those who use the powers of the mind, among which I count myself. Since the energies we command are more limited, we've learned to release them in a more controled fashion that suggests a less rigid division of energy power levels."

"This, of course, resting on the theory that magic and psychic energies are similar at least in the most fundamental level, which is proved by large amounts of evidence."

"Not that any of this actually changes our problem with the temple's supernatural protections, which is, to summarize, very strong indeed."

 

[B4cchus]

"Your explanation of the degreed of power in magic is interresting and complies with my knowledge on the subject. I see that you indeed encountered a magical barrier of a magntutide that is beyond your abilities. Beyond the abilities of almost any mortal I might add.
I will consort with the one who holds the other half and try to let you return to the shrine with that half. There will be a dinner served for you in the dining room shortyly. I shall return once I have news, hopefully later tonight. Meanhwile, please make yourself comfortable. Dunbar will come to collect you when dinner is served."
With that said Graven stands up and is about to leave the study.

 

[Someone]

"I didn't expect that" says Odno when Graven leaves the room and they are alone. "I'm very curious about the owner of the other half. What chances do you reckon are of him being closer than, say, one mile?"

 

[B4cchus]

ooc: please inform me if you have discussed everything you wanted to before going to dinner. Anything that doesn't take a large amount of time (such as discussing) is ok.

 

[Someone]

"I don't think any of us can leave the house or the group without being noticed." continues Odno. "But on the other hand I doubt any of them knows that my psicrystal can move and is quite aware of it's surroundings. It even can speak telepathically with me. It does it constantly, though of course you can't be aware of that. The caveat is, the range of the communication is no longer than one mile, a range that sometimes I wish it'd be shorter."

"So I had the idea of concealng the psicrystal somewhere within Graven's clothes or equipment, and use it to find out who has the other half and perhaps eavesdrop on their conversation, an action that may be ethically reprobable but that doesn't bother me so much, except for the fact of risking my psicrystal."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Aren't they free to replace? I admit that I know almost nothing about psionics, but my sister was researching psionic effects recently for a project. Still, we shall see. The word consort was a bit of an interesting one to choose, though..."

*Aletheia speaks but little, aware that in Graven's house, there could be ears in the walls. In fact, with the use of the word consort, the blank she would be fill in is 'consort with _______' == 'consort with demons', so it could even be a little imp or something. Heck, the servant Dunbar could be an imp in its altered form.*