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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LordVyreth" data-source="post: 1500422" data-attributes="member: 9626">The fighter's lock picksWHAM!!“Is this really…”WHAM!!“I just don’t think we should be doing this…”WHAM!!“I mean, I’m sure there’s a real way to do this.  We can figure this…”WHAM!!“Oh, forget it.”Tal finally gave up on trying, unsuccessfully, to talk Quercus and Dane out of their latest plan.  Finally sick of the puzzles, they had been hacking at one of the walls that lead into the dark room containing the fifth clue for an hour.  Finally, the wall could stand no more punishment, and crumbled.  Tsine gave them a glance as they prepared to explore.  “How did you even know that there is something else in here to find?”“Well, it’s the only place we didn’t really explore yet,” Dane replied without a hint of hesitation.The room itself was still almost pitch black, but Quercus easily fixed that now.  Once he cast a half dozen light spells, the layout was far easier to determine.  It essentially had a deep pit in the middle of the room, with a grating on the floor, and a hole in the ceiling.  There was another elevated ledge, like the one the new “door” the party made opened into.  That side had a lever and an opening in the east wall.  Quercus volunteered to try the lever, which caused a bridge to appear between the two ledges, and opened both the entirety of the wall they destroyed and an opening to the second path.  As they walked across the bridge, Tsine looked up and remarked, “I think we’re just above that trap door on the sixth floor.  If we had filled this room with water first, I bed someone could have survived the fall.Dane chuckled.  “Yeah, that sounds SO much easier than what we did!”The path on the other side maintained the crystal motif, but it was brighter somehow, and there was a faint but obvious throbbing noise coming from the walls, like the beating of a strange alien heart.  The party eventually led to another crystal room, with a crystalline statue attached to the far wall.  As soon as Dane, who was taking point, entered the room, the eyes of the statue glowed ominously.  Dane signaled for Flix to check it out, but as soon as he entered the room, three strange monsters appeared out of nowhere!  They looked humanoid, but were made out of some strange goo.  Flix and Dane were already in the room, and thus the first to react.  Flix made a quick thrust at one of the creature’s torsos, but his expert blow was a waste, for the creature had no organs.  Dane noticed this as well, and simply used his muscle to slash one in half.  Raz and Rudyard burst into the room, and Raz finished off the one that Flix attacked, while Rudyard started attacking the statue itself.  Tsine entered next, and used a magic orb volley to destroy the third statue, but as soon as it faded, another one took the place of the first three, and it was larger than the earlier creatures.  Realizing that attacking these lesser targets is having no real effect, Tal and Quercus targeted the statue itself when they entered the room, and Flix and Dane did the same when they got the chance.  Dane easily shattered the chipped and damaged statue with one blow, causing the last of the ectoplasmic creatures to simply vanish.  Behind the statue was an opening, which led to a tiny alcove.  It was empty, except for the sixth and final clue.  The last was not a betrayer, but a betrayed.  His body was controlled magically, forcing him to stand against his comrades.His armor lies in the lower left of the fifth floor, And there his soul remains as well.Stab him where you will, but make sure the blade strikes true in the end.    Raz chuckled.  “Well, at least this one is easy to figure out.”    Rudyard groaned.  “Yeah, but it sounds like a fight, and I don’t think we’re in good shape to handle it.”    Tal nodded.  “I concur.  Let’s use the rest of this time to clean this place up, and then finish this tomorrow.”    As they left the third basement, Flix noticed that the crystals darkened, and the beating noise stopped.  “Wow,” he thought, I hope that doesn’t mean anything.”    It took a few hours and the rest of their spells, but the water was all cleaned or dried up, and the party returned to their inn one more time, ready to finish their adventure off in the next night.  Flix in particular had an interesting night.  He had been pondering the decision about his future since he met with the criminal.  He finally realized he was meant to use this strange, new power.  He could pick up the basics from what he learned from the criminal, but when they have some time free after returning to Delaspie, he’ll have to see what that temple was about.    Meanwhile, in the fourth basement, Kulpathi stirred.  How long has it been since he was first captured?  There was no way to tell.  But it appeared that the effect that has had a hold on him for so long has finally worn off.  He looked to his companions, who were also recovering.  Kulpathi smiled.  It would take some time to get their bearings, but after that, it was time for revenge….    OOC Notes:  Tsine pretty much nailed how they were supposed to do the puzzle.  I have to admit, in retrospect, it was pretty esoteric.    Anyway, I expect to get through the final update of this plot on Sunday, no matter how long it takes!  Well, hopefully, at least.  Wish me luck!</blockquote>

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