High Above Faerun

[Tom Cashel]

And so, Artemus Thornwind, you sit upon your perch in the clouds. You have discovered that there is a portal, but it is as invisible as the platform holding you aloft.

The question is...what next?

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

First I ready my shortspear and say a quick prayer to Silvanus. Then I reach out with a nervous right hand and touch the portal until I feel the writing on the upper right side. Then I utter the words, "Part the veil of the universe for me".

ooc: I won't read the other thread until our paths intersect.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Nothing happens.

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

Hmmm

I think a moment and decide that maybe the portal did activate but since it is invisible, maybe the image on the other side of the portal is invisible too. I also think that maybe I didn't close the portal when I went through so maybe it is still open and invisible. So I simply walk forward using my past experience with portals to guide me into the middle of it. Note that I still have my shortspear ready for what may exist in the next place.

 

[Tom Cashel]

A very thorough and logical deduction.

Unfortunately, you stride through the invisible portal and remain in the very same location--high above the water on your flat platform.

[Does your character have Knowledge: Arcana? If so, you can make a roll on a d20.]

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

oh boy

[I don't have knowledge:arcana]

I sit down, gingerly open a food ration and start eating half of it, this puzzle may take a bit of time to solve and I need to conserve. Meanwhile I ponder the puzzling portal. After eating I run my hand over the runes along the top left and right angles of the invisible portal in an attempt to determine if they are the same as the writing on the other portals. I don't need to be able to read the writing, I just need to know if they are similar. Next I take some of the dirt from the pile in front of the portal and throw it onto the portal and push it into the runes to try and make it all visible. If the dirt just becomes invisible then I stop. I make a further search (take twenty) in the dirt to look for any associated magic portal 'keys' or clues that may help me open the portal or any clues as to the type of creatures that have died trying to open it. For instance, if all of the bones are of orcs but there are no humans or more intelligent creatures then I can assume that this is solvable with wits (or no humans have gone through-unlikely). Next, I put my left hand on the left side of the portal and I utter the words, "Close the veil of the universe for me" in an attempt to make the portal do something. Then I try to open it again by putting my hand on the right side and saying the words (Part the veil of the.....) and then moving to the other side of the portal and putting my hand on that right side and repeating the words. I figure maybe direction matters on this portal and I was facing the wrong way. After both attempts I wait a minute and then walk through the portal. If this doesn't work then I scan the horizon for any other dirt mounds in the general area. If I can't see any then I sit down and think some more.

 

[Tom Cashel]

You sit and eat for about twenty minutes. It really is a beautiful view from up here.

Back to the portal. The dirt becomes invisible, but you can tell with your fingertips that the runes are similar to those on the other portals. In fact, from what you can tell with all your senses (except sight) this portal is identical to the others in all respects.

You search the debris and the platform...thoroughly. It takes about an hour, crawling on your hands and knees further and further out until you discover the edges of the flat platform--it seems to be an invisible circular plane about 200' across. You don't discover any keys to opening the portal, but you find that the skulls are both human and orc, and all look as though they were clawed and picked clean of flesh by a large predator.

From time to time clouds drift past, cloaking you in mist, then drifting away. The platform's location remains fixed.

The rocks, branches and dirt you find here are remarkably similar--identical, even--to the debris and refuse in the Nexus Room. The branches are almost woven, and scraps of cloth are mixed in, giving them the look of a large nest that was broken apart.

Such knowledge is cold comfort to you, since your attempts (from multiple directions) do not cause the portal to function. There are no other dirt mounds in sight.

You sit down to think again. You've been here about an hour and a half.

[OOC: I sent an e-mail...we're trying to get together (me, Lucius, Dalabrac, Artemus) for 1-2 hrs. next Wednesday the 25th after work. See if we can resolve this situation...somewhat. Let's keep posting until then, though.]

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

Aha

Very interesting.

Can I tell how long ago the dirt was disturbed by either the predator that feasted on these poor creatures or by anything else? Can I tell the nature of the predator? For instance, do I see feathers or fur mixed in with the pile?

Can I pick out features below me? Can I tell for instance where the ruins in the Rocklands are? The wagons? Can I see birds flying near the platform? Are they close enough for a Summon Nature's ally spell?

How deep is the dirt/branches/bones? Could I fashion a hiding place amongst it?

Any magic items or weapons among the pile?

 

[Tom Cashel]

Perceptive

You find a large, tawny feather among the bones, broken nestage, sticks, and dirt. It would have come from an extremely large eagle.

Below you, you see a large body of water over 200' down. To the north you see a shoreline, perhaps eight to ten miles off. To the south, east and west the water streches to the horizon.

There are sea birds flying about, but Summon Nature's Ally brings an animal to your side from far away...it just appears (use the link to read about it...bottom of the page).

The pile is not deep enough to hide in. There is nothing of worth or use. The dirt looks like it was thrown and shoveled through the portal, probably recently (within the last two weeks). The stone looks like what is used to build the Nexus Room; the dirt looks like Stonelands soil.

 

[Roman Gemmalee]

Thoughts and actions

I look at the beautiful view and decide to meet the others using the power of Nature rather than this unnatural portal. I could Summon a bird and try to get it to find a large bird to carry me back to the Stonelands but this indirect plan has many chances of failure. Therefore, I will try to sleep for a time and then change my shape to that of an eagle when I have the strength to do it. The orcs stole away with the children during the second watch of the caravan and I had been asleep for about 4 hours. During that time I have not slept since and I can't change my shape until I do, I need 8 hours of sleep and time to meditate for my spells. I think I can remain safe for this amount of time from the eagle that nested here previously because the bird doesn't use the nest now. The time of the year is late Summer (Ossington's farmers complained that they might starve since they lost their harvest, the settlers in our caravan want to get to their destination by Winter etc.) and I know that birds nest in early Spring, therefore I believe that the eagle is gone and will not return till next year (if ever). I can't be sure that I will be safe from something coming through the portal but I can chance it because the last known use (besides myself) was approximately two weeks ago. Plus I can maximize my chances of staying undisturbed and safe through the spell 'Tree Shape'. I can cast this spell and it will last 8 hours and I will assume the shape of a 'dead tree trunk with a small number of limbs' (ooc: pg. 267 PH). Even the closest examination won't reveal the truth about me. Then I will sleep safely for 8 hours, meditate on new spells, change shape into an eagle and fly back to the Stonelands.