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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carnifex" data-source="post: 1362644" data-attributes="member: 227">I might well take you up on that, Horacio <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Anyways, another update...Melisande blinked in the flood of white light. She hadn't had enough time to look the Arcanofex over as much as she would have liked before it burned its beam straight into her. She flinched and raised a hand to shield her eyes--and to prepare a spell.But the Arcanofex replied, rather than attacking. Mel breathed out one long, slow breath.Her voice wavered a little, but she saw some room for hope here, and would not be daunted. "Your master is correct, Arcanofex, that we are not hostile. We are scholars and emissaries of the Truth-Seekers, sent here to study, not to pillage. We would very much like an audience with your master, if he is disposed. I gather he's not dead, then? That's wonderful news. And of course, we'll lay down all our weapons. They're only for defense anyway.""Melisande!" Wyshira couldn't help exclaiming. She stared at the other young woman in disbelief.Wyshira knew for a fact that Kale would never happily lay aside his weapons and go trotting after the Arconfex to meet with its master. She herself didn't feel inclined to part with her javelins in the middle of all this uncertainty.And as for claiming that they were emissaries of a Truth-Seeker... well, Wyshira wasn't sure that that was a wise choice either. This mysterious master of the Arconfex might well object to his work being the subject of Lord Ecurius' study.But standing in the glare of the thaumineered creature's headlights, there wasn't much that the priestess could say or do now. She waited tensely for its reaction to Mel's words.There was a moment of silence as the arcanofex seemed to be considering Melisande's words. "The master's situation is... difficult. If you wish to meet with him, I will attempt to render your passage to the Vault as easy as possible. However, this arcanofex must remain here to guard the entranceway against further intruders.""Furthermore, I have lost control of large areas of the tower. Systems may be operative within those areas which will consider you as intruders and respond aggressively, but I will communicate with you where possible and give guidance as best I can. Beware also of intruders moving through the structure.""The master thinks... if you wish to meet with him, please hurry. The Vault may soon be breached. It lies near the top of Primary Spire."With that, the machine broke into clattering movement again, steam hissing as it clomped backwards to return to the guard alcove it had emerged from, and the plate began to close down again."I think the mother-spirit is still alive," said Johanne quietly, awe in his voice. "Thank you very much," Mel managed in an oddly strangled voice. As the Arcanofex turned back to its duties she bowed to it, but did not straighten right away, doubled over as she was with hardly stifled, wheezing giggles."You should have seen the looks on your faces," she gasped, at last regaining enough control to stand straight and dab her eyes. "Sometimes.... Sometimes 'hello' is mightier than the sword. Ah, me!"She had to cover her mouth. Of course, not everyone was going to see the humor in it. The place was indeed creepy and there had been, recently, ample reason for tension, but somehow the friendly, helpful Arcanofex struck her in a funny spot, with all these stuffy scholars digging frantically in their linty component pouches and everyone's eyes bugging out. It would be a few minutes before she could stop the corners of her mouth from betraying her while the group re-organized and headed into the tower proper.She caught Wyshira's eye in search of some shred of complicity, even though the priestess had upbraided her like a child a moment before. "See? And we'll get a lot more interesting information from the Master of the Tower himself than from his remains. I wonder...."But another muffled attack of giggles broke off the rest of the thought. Wyshira shook her head, confounded by Melisande's mirth. "I just wish that you hadn't volunteered to disarm us all," she said, irritation edging her voice. But in the end she relented and gave her friend a small, reassuring half-smile."Of course, I'm glad that the - uh, the ar-cano-fax is friendly," she went on, "But what did it mean when it said that it would try to make our passage to the Vault as easy as possible? How are we to find our way?"* * *Relaxing imperceptibly, Ebri replaced the shuriken in the folds of her wrap with its companions. She resisted the temptation to run her fingers over it thoughtfully. Of late, she caught herself more and more slipping in such undisciplined habits. Thought needed no action to accompany it; fidgeting was a waste of energy and a display to others of a preoccupied and unattentive mind. She had mastered the weakness years ago; why did it resurface now?The weapon comes into one's hand when needed, and not being needed, is replaced... she recited to herself. ...and little good it would have been... she added. Though perhaps, the eyes were a weakness; a shuriken might have reduced the blinding light....She returned to a more normal stance from her protective neutral one, and turned her attention to what was far more of interest: her ward. The girl displayed more and more this lack of caution and thoughtlessness. If she were alone, the habits would surely have caused her death by now. Fortunately for her, she is not alone...Obviously, the Old Masters were wise in sending her.But she thought further. There were several ways to handle such individuals. One was to attempt to kill or change the behavior through negative interventions. Ebri considered this inefficient; it wasted potential, and besides, if several near brushes with death had not modified such behavior in Melisande, then she doubted anything could. In this case, the better option would be what she was already set upon: to study the person, play upon the tendencies, and so manipulate them into the desired behavior. This, after all, was what the idolatrous and superstitious priesthoods did everyday."I wonder, as well..." she said slowly. "And it is well for us that we are alive to wonder... I do not think I could have handled that so bravely, or with such optimism..." Ebri allowed approval into her tone. "Thank you."Obviously, when they camped next, she would have to continue their discussion about the 'sapphire' quest. For now, she pulled her wrap about her more tightly, and adjusted a sandal strap."Shall we move on?" * * *"That was incredible..." Sebastion whispered, almost to himself, as he turned back to the others, then cringed slightly as Mel laughed at his expense.Clearing his throat he straightened a little more, pulling gently at his suddenly tight collar."Alright, let's get ready to move on. I presume this tower is the main structure here... do any of you have an idea about the layout of these places?" he asked, in the general direction of the huddle of mages."I've never rescued a building before..." Kale mentioned as he emerged and walked to where Anas'turi crouched over the fallen guardian. Producing a stilletto from his boot, he quickly plucked a crafted eye from the steely corpse. Lobbing the instrument to Anas'turi, he spoke to everyone. "I agree with Sebastion. We should get on. If the arcanist or the tower's powers have suvived, I'd rather not the Toranites and their ilk get advantage. Besides,"  Kale sheathed his thief's tool, "If the keepers of this knowledge still survive, we'd do well to have their favor."The band seemed unsure where to go next. "Forward and beyond the entrance would be a good start," Kale surmised in common sense, hoping such routefinding was of value in the ancient tower-being. Drawn back to alertness, he moved forward in hopes of finding a way.Johanne nodded. "Well, we have some vague idea, though it's not as if there is any standard form or structure planning for Umbral sites. I'd imagine Primary Spire is the main tower, so we probably need... to head straight in, try and find access to the upper levels near the core of the building. If we're lucky there'll be still-active transport mechanisms to get us up the tower quickly..."* * *Lit by the fitful wychlights of the mages and sages, the tunnel-corridor they walked along cast odd shadows. Despite the fact it was about ten feet high there was still a sense of claustrophobia and closeness, with damo heavy on the air. The curving walls of the corridor rose up around them, their foosteps reverberating hollowly on the floorpanels.Ansas'Turi continued to look around her in intense interest, and the sages were engaged in quiet conversation and discussion, marvelling at the structure through which they paced. Jarvis kept alert, blades still in his hands and eyes scouring the winding way ahead.They passed great round doors of brass, studding the sides of the corridor. Some were heavily locked, others jammed shut. Some were open or sundered, opening up into dark spaces beyond. Johanne, his staff shimmering with blue energy, pointed them onwards further down the corridor at each such juncture. "We should make haste to find the 'master', we can explore the rest of this place later," he said eagerly. "Best to stick on heading down the corridor towards the core rather than wasting time in side-passages and back-rooms." The tall mage would keep pacing straight on, clearly wanting to reach the 'Vault' as soon as possible.After a few minutes walk, they saw a trap that had been sprung. Apparently someone had then broken it thoroughly. Protruding from an aperture in the side of the corridor, a barbed, twisted piece of machinery drooped down, damaged beyond repair. Ansas'Turi paused to break off a chunk of gearworks from it, slipping it in her pocket for later examination.* * *Wyshira walked along the corridor with the others, stopping occasionally to peer into the darkness of the open doorways away from the light of the mages. Still she glimpsed only hints of large chambers or smaller, winding corridors beyond.She kept close to Johanne and the cluster of sages, trying to listen in on their discussions. She wondered who - or what - the Arcanofex's 'master' was, and why the master's situation was 'difficult'. She guessed that the master was the arcanist that Lord Ecurius had told them about, and that somehow he had gained at least partial control of some of the old Umbral machinery. Johanne had said that he thought the mother-spirit was still alive ........ Did he think that the mother-spirit had spoken through the Arcanofex? Wyshira didn't understand, and the idea that some kind of extra-planar spirit bound to the heart of this Tower was watching the party's movements from afar made the priestess extremely anxious.Knowing that a group of Toranites was just ahead of them only added to her anxiety. She expected any moment to run into an ambush.* * *It took them a while, but eventually the corridor broke out into a vast inner chamber.Their lights seemed pathetic in the gloomy expanse, but aided by those with darkvision they were able to assemble an idea of what the chamber looked like. Tall, reaching high above them, it was dominated by a set of struts that rose from floor to ceiling, bearing an array of machinery and stairs. It sank into the floor, the staircase apparently descending down as well as up."This looks like the center of the tower to me. It doesn't look like it has any power though. Probably to our luck, actually, since any defences wont be active, but it means we'll have to trek up the stairs rather than being able to ride any of the machinery up there." The mage peered up into the darkness. "It'll take us up into the upper levels, though no-where near all the way up to the top. well under hafl-way up the height of the building, by my judgement. It's probably a maze of smaller rooms up there, no-where near as simple a design as the area we've just come through. Hopefully we'll be able to navigate our way through it without any problems, but my guess is that's where we'll find the Toranites." He scowled. "Shall we make haste? I don't want to lose out on any knowledge of this place to Carthagians." * * *Inside the inner chamber, Wyshira felt like a tiny, insignificant speck compared to the vast expanse of machinery and stairways leading up. She had never been in a structure this large before, and felt completely overwhelmed. She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned back against the wall near the entrance to the chamber. She whispered a prayer to Ishrak, beseeching the Lady to grant her courage in the face of the unknown, before opening her eyes again.A quiet exclamation of "Thank the Lady!" escaped her lips when Johanne declared that the machinery lacked power, and that they would have to walk up the stairs instead of riding in one of the contraptions. But she nodded her assent when the mage asked if they were ready to proceed. * * *"Let us go up, by all means..."  Ebri murmurred. "Let us go quickly, but carefully... We should space ourselves evenly, so as not to put undue stress on this ancient structure."  Looking up, she eyed those joints and struts the magelight revealed with unconcealed suspicion. Someday, air and space would be nothing to her, she knew. Nor would time, nor distance, nor the solidity of things like walls. As she grew in her understanding of the Purpose and the Way of Shadow, she would gain mastery over the illusions of the world. She would apprehend true reality. Already, she could direct and redirect force energies, had gained more control over the machine of her body than most people ever would. Someday, she would simply rise through the air, more spirit than body, and fly. But someday is not now. Now, there is the staircase. She set her foot upon it, testing her weight, and began to climb."That," said the priestess of Immar, cheerfully but softly, "was surely one for my Journal of Unusual and Interesting Creatures... if it is a creature, at all. I wonder, would you say it is alive? For if it is not, I should rather list it in my Tome of Curious Things...""Or," Wyshira called up to Ebri sweetly, but with a bit of a smirk, "you could record it in your travelogue. What's that thing called again? The mimir."The floating, talking, metallic skull had been on Wyshira's mind ever since running into the Arcanofex. Ebri had never really explained the thing other than to say that she used it to record her travelogue. Wyshira suspected that there was more to it than that, especially since she had never seen Ebri record anything on it, or in fact use it at all. * * *Not that she needed much more buoying, but Melisande felt gratifyingly uplifted by Ebri Zol's vote of confidence. She'd handled the Arcanofex well! Maybe that was what made her so insanely giggly: it seemed like the last few times they'd run into anyone or anything she'd brought down catastrophe, and this time there was a lifting of tension that went to her head like a bubble of hot air when the Arcanofex did not, like the Solar Beholder, fry her to a crisp.I'm learning! She thought excitedly. Let mother call me a nitwit now! Eh, Pierre?But the toad's only response was a mental moan of terror.Oh, lighten up. You know, I think it's the inspiration of Naskha. Now that I'm dedicated to him my mind must be growing more focused and discerning.Aloud, she chatted with Ebri as the group of them started up the stairs. The bubble of hot air was not entirely spent, it seemed."I'd put the Arcanofex down as a Creature, because it's sentient even if it is a construct and probably not technically alive--can't imagine it eating or--or--reproducing for example. My goodness, what an image!" She giggled again a few moments before the hush of the others around her made her self-conscious.In a lower voice, she went on. "If we run into those Toranites, let me handle them. I know all about Carthagians." "I'll lead." Sebastion's quiet words eased between Mel and Ebri much more easily than he and his bulky armour did, but he nudged through and stood on the third step turning back to survey his charges with an inward grimace.If he were going to ambush a group such as this, on the staircase would be an ideal place."Kale and Jarvis, you back me up, Burl your back-up would help. We'll clear a bridgehead at the top, and then the rest come up in groups. Cazamir, you cover the back."That, he thought, should keep the weight on the staircase low, and minimise the target on the steps, too.Loosening his sword's twin scabbards he turned back to face upward and awaited the shuffling behind him to finish. * * *Meg'anna found it rather interesting that those around her merely accepted the large metal behemoth as a mere greeting and had continued on, leaving the massive construct to its own devices, allowing themselves to get further into the Tower. Not that she had anything against the creature, only that it was rather unusual for her to let anything like that to its owns whims. It was such thinking that had lead to the creation of the Flesh-tearers and other abominations.Her thoughts strayed to the Toranites that were ahead of them. Though by natire Meg was a rather docile creature, she could feel her blood begin to boil at the thought of catching up with the mutilating bastards and dealing out divine punishment. The goddess of nature would work through her this day, and strike a blow against these vermin. Meg'anna did not realize the tight grip she had on her spear as she walked and thought. Her near white knuckles showed her thoughts rather clearly to those around her, and it was all that she could do to simply smile and shrug.This would be one interesting meeting..... * * *The metallic plates of the spiralling staircase creaked and shifted under the feet of the infiltrators, giving the party an alarming feeling of having very little between them and a long drop to the floor below. As they slowly ascended past struts and gears and eldritch but dormant machinery, a faint breeze bringing a fresher tinge to the rusty air swirled around them for a few moments, through vents and pipes studding the side of the high chamber.* * *Kale, Jarvis, Sebastion and Burl, leading as the advance party, moved up the staircase well ahead of the others and entered the darkness that beckoned from where the staircose wove up through the ceiling of the chamber. Jarvis held his crystal-woven blade ahead of him, concentrating for a moment before the mineral strands glimmered with blue light, illuminating the area around them now that they were away from the wychlights of the mages.The staircase broke up through the floor of the round chamber, the 8 foot high ceiling something of a change after the massive core room. Some sort of elevation machine also terminated in this room, part of the transport engine that, were it active, would have carreid them up in a cage-lift from the room below. The walls and ceiling, rather than metal, were stone - it seemed that the building was something of an amalgam of the two materials.Four large round portals were equally spaced around the chamber, each studded with cranks and machinery. Three hummed quietly with energy, the fourth dark and dead, immoveable without active gears to shift its heavy bulk open.* * *"Mimir?" Johanne asked, the tall mage ascending the stairs not far behind the three women.They were high up now, their voices and the metal squeaks of the stairs seeming tiny in the dark chamber. "You've really got a mimir?"What a foolish thing to say, out loud and in front of everyone too! Wyshira thought. I'm getting to be as bad as Melisande...The water priestess shot Ebri an embarassed, apologetic look, then jumped as the staircase let out a mighty screech above them, probably in protest of the advance party's approach. She held her breath while the whole thing swayed beneath her feet for a moment, then continued climbing when it steadied again.* * *The last of the band filed up into the circular room, the four doors seemingly presenting the way on."This area must have power, which is good since it means we can actually get through these three doors. That one over there; you'd need a lot of work to get that one open, so I'd suggest we just take on of the others. We're looking for further ways up now, but to be honest I have no idea which direction'd be best. Pot luck really."Ansas'Turi strolled over to the nearest door, peering at it carefully, before experimentally tugging at a crank. The innards of the door gave a stubborn clank, refusing to open up. "Mechanically locked... which is strange, if the Carthagians came this way. They must have been able to get through, but..." she strolled round the other two active doors. "They're all locked. Um..." She knelt down, giving the mechanisms of the door, now at her head level, a good look over before touching anything. "Okay, no obvious traps." She rolled one sleave of her tunic up, revealing a bulky metal bracer, before reaching over and pulling back a metal plate on the back of it and giving it a shake. A dozen delicate and complex looking tools jingled out, each attached to the bracer by a thin copper chain, and after another moment of thought plucked one away and began to work at prying open the door's engine.The front-plate fell away to hit the metal florr with a resounding clang. The Ironjack peered intently into the machine guts, and after a few moments of bewilderment she seemed to see something she recognised."Okay, I've found the gears that prevent the door opening, but they're pretty old and rusted. I could probably just knock them out on any of these doors, and that should unlock them. I can only assume that the Carthagians had some kind of key, or magic, to get them through these doors. Or they found another way up." She sat herself down properly on the floor, looking up at the others. "So which door do you want to go through?" Wyshira sat down to wait while Ansas'Turi examined the doors. She invited Meg'anna to sit next to her, guessing that the druidess was feeling a bit out of her element here in the middle of this man-and-magic-made structure. The young genasi was feeling more than a little lost here herself."I don't know which door we should try to open," Wyshira said in a hushed voice to the other woman, pulling out a little of her dry rations to nibble on while they waited. "Does it matter? I suppose it does, really. I was going to suggest asking the mimir - it performs auguries, besides being a recording device - but, well ....... I hate to bring the subject up again. Ebri seems to want to keep the thing a secret."Face set and serious, Sebastion moved slowly about the room, switching glances from one door to the other, though he felt no likelihood of spotting some sign the others had missed."If this were a war tower," he offered, finally, "I'd say the most likely way up is that way." he pointed towards the door to the right of where the stairs emptied out."Rule of thumb in designing for defence is keep the enemy turning right, into their own swordarms and... " he stopped short, realising they probably didn't care."Anyway, if they had any warrior traditions, I'd say that way." "Assuming the Umbrals' enemies weren't all left-handed, of course," Melisande muttered, repressing yet another giggle."Let's have a close look at these doors and perform any divination we can before we decide. I don't think we know enough about their customs to guess which is the shortest or safest route up. I wish the Arcanofex had given us directions. Or maybe we should be sniffing for baking cookies, since we are expected now, after all."Though her ebullient mood had not disspated in the dank air of the upper tower, she was able to set to work fairly seriously.First, she said a command to enhance her vision, attempting to discern any magical fields in the doors around them.Next, with great concentration, she tried the same new trick as out of doors: frowning at each door and upwards from it, she opened a sort of newly grown inner eye--or no, it was more like exposing her delicate skin to the elements in order to find out whether it was cold out. Yes, that was more like it, because she knew that if she found what she was looking for it would prickle and burn.As she did so, Ebri answered the questions of the others. "By all means..."  Ebri answered, forcing a pleasant and harried smile to her lips.  "By all means, let us use the mimir... Indeed, we do have one..." she informed the inquisitive member of the scholarly band. "However, since its augury may be only used once in a day, I hope we shall have no more need of it. Also, it may only answer a question that has a simple positive or negative answer. In this case, I do not see how we can ask it which direction is best. As for keeping it secret, the thing is exceptionally precious and valuable. I do not advertise its presence among strangers and unknown places because it is a thing likely to be stolen. Its worth is so high that many would kill us just for the price of selling it. Although its true value, of course, cannot be set-- that is the information it carries."She withdrew the mimir, and set it floating in the air.Let them take the risk, themselves, then-- she thought, highly annoyed at having had her hand so forced. The thing has a record of all our doings and all we have said. And anyone may ask it of us, and get information as to our plans and where we have been. For myself, I would take the door directly opposite the stairs. But let us ask-- Mimir, we wish to perform an augury... one moment... " She turned her eyes to the others. "Well?"* * *Melisande's incantation of arcane detection brought a faint glimmer to what she could see of the three doors, some small amount of eldritch energy woven into the machinery within, but not enough to do anything more than confirm that these mechanisms were a fusion of magic and more mundane concepts. Her attempt to discern anything more sinister beyond and above the doors was without a result, detecting nothing no matter which way she turned."Fascinating, a genuine mimir... might I ask where you procured such a thing? They're rare finds indeed, since we've long since lost the art of making them. Most date back to the Dawn War..."As Ebri brought out the silvery skull and let go of it, leaving it hovering in the air, those who ahd not seen it before looked on in interest, awe, or surprise; the sages, Ansas'Turi and Jarvis in particular watching it intently to see what it did next. It rotated round to face the gathering, and the eyes flared with blue light for a moment as it came up to full activation.It cast its glance around momentarily, as if taking in its surroundings. And as it did so, it muttered something, so utterly quiet it was barely more than a murmur, and so softly that no movement of its jaw was visible. No-one heard what it said, except Ebri, the magical earring she had taken from the dragonkin warrior amplifying and clarifying the sound for her."Surely not shadowmen..." it had gasped so quietly. Then it spoke in its normal, metallic volumes."You wish for an augury? As you wish, though I remind you that my divinations only reveal an answer to me in terms of 'weal' or 'woe' - irritatingly cryptic, I know, but blame my creator for not having imbued me with a more powerful divination. What is your question?""Amazing..." came the mutter, several times, from amongst the onlookers who had not seen this mimir before. Next Time: The party choose a door, find out what is behind it... and meet the Crystal Eye...</blockquote>

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