Author Topic: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate  (Read 123988 times)

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #60 on: August 29, 2013, 03:46:55 PM »
Flap peers around the snake-man statue and extends a hand toward the crack.  A soft light flickers into existence a few moments later.

Standing in the center of the room, Nelio finds himself looking at the snake-man statue.  Ignoring the spellcasting threatening to disrupt his concentration, Nelio thinks back to his teachings regarding the other faiths of the world.  This figure is familiar.  K'seliss.  The Knowledge Keeper.

Thinking back to the dusty tomes he was forced to read, Nelio conjures an image of the deity.  Standing tall, head looking back to reflect on the past in order to apply the knowledge to the future.  A tome in his left hand, to record the knowledge gained through experience.  His right hand extended upwards, to show the need for future experiences to learn from...

...that's odd.  Every image in the tomes had the right arm upright, but this statue shows it forward; almost pointing directly at Nelio's position.  Curious, Nelio approaches the statue.  The light provided by the Halfling's sorcery confirms Nelio's suspicion: the statue's right arm is designed to move.
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Offline crazy_sherm

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #61 on: August 30, 2013, 05:41:00 PM »
"Caerus! When you're done looking at the crack, come over here. I have something to show you with this statue."

Nelio then goes into absolutely mind numbing 5 minute lecture about everything he knows of, acting out different scenes from mythology.

"...and so he raised his right hand, silencing the crowd, all the while, deflecting the meteor and saving the planet. Humbly, he addressed the crowd, that there are always future experiences to learn from and then disappeared into the sky. Every depiction of K'seliss, the Knowledge Keeper, has always show his arm held high because of this significant event. However, the statue here has his arm pointed directly toward us. I investigated further and noticed that the arm moves. Can you check if the movement is attached to any sort of mechanism?"

Offline NasT

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #62 on: August 31, 2013, 07:28:46 PM »
"Caerus! When you're done looking at the crack, come over here. I have something to show you with this statue."

Nelio then goes into absolutely mind numbing 5 minute lecture about everything he knows of, acting out different scenes from mythology.

"...and so he raised his right hand, silencing the crowd, all the while, deflecting the meteor and saving the planet. Humbly, he addressed the crowd, that there are always future experiences to learn from and then disappeared into the sky. Every depiction of K'seliss, the Knowledge Keeper, has always show his arm held high because of this significant event. However, the statue here has his arm pointed directly toward us. I investigated further and noticed that the arm moves. Can you check if the movement is attached to any sort of mechanism?"

Somewhere between minutes two and three of Nelio's lecture Caerus makes his way around behind Nelio to see the statue from his perspective.  He wasn't looking for anything in particular in the crack in the wall.  He was simply hoping that having the statue between them would help muffle Nelio's incessant babbling.  As Nelio continues Caerus, weapons still in hand, begins awkwardly picking at his nails.  Every so often, a light scrape of metal is heard as the two blades contact each other.
When the room finally goes silent, Caerus lets out a deep breath and soaks in the silence.

...don't bury the lead...

"The history is all well and good, but you might start with the lever next time."


As he says this, he approaches the snake statue and examines it for any signs that it might be mechanical.

(click to show/hide)
Myrielle: "I think you're worth the trouble, even if the others don't."

You know life sucks when you get a back-handed compliment from a seven year old.

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #63 on: August 31, 2013, 07:55:33 PM »
Raising the arm of the statue does indeed activate a mechanism. From the looks of it, the mechanism its below the statue, most likely the base. There does not appear to be a security measure installed.
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Offline NasT

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #64 on: September 05, 2013, 10:07:30 PM »
Raising the arm of the statue does indeed activate a mechanism. From the looks of it, the mechanism its below the statue, most likely the base. There does not appear to be a security measure installed.


...please don't let this go to his head....

"It looks like there is indeed something here, and it appears safe enough..."


Caerus reaches up and raises the arm into a vertical position.
Myrielle: "I think you're worth the trouble, even if the others don't."

You know life sucks when you get a back-handed compliment from a seven year old.

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #65 on: September 06, 2013, 12:06:19 PM »
The arm moves easily, and makes no sound as it moves.  When raised to the proper position, an audible *click* is heard from inside the statue.  This is followed by a soft whirring sound and a second *click* as a panel slides down to reveal a compartment in the base.  The compartment is a square roughly a forearm's length on each side, and contains a single item: a leather pouch.  The dust accumulated within shows it has been here for ages.
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Offline NasT

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #66 on: September 08, 2013, 12:25:18 AM »
The arm moves easily, and makes no sound as it moves.  When raised to the proper position, an audible *click* is heard from inside the statue.  This is followed by a soft whirring sound and a second *click* as a panel slides down to reveal a compartment in the base.  The compartment is a square roughly a forearm's length on each side, and contains a single item: a leather pouch.  The dust accumulated within shows it has been here for ages.

...Better check just to be safe...

Caerus visually searches the comparment for anything out of the ordinary.

(click to show/hide)
Myrielle: "I think you're worth the trouble, even if the others don't."

You know life sucks when you get a back-handed compliment from a seven year old.

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #67 on: September 08, 2013, 04:43:00 PM »
Judging by the thick layer of dust and the visible construction, the compartment and the pouch contained within both appear to be devoid of traps.
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Offline NasT

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #68 on: September 10, 2013, 02:55:13 AM »
Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Caerus bends over and reaches into the  compartment.  Grabbing the  pouch, he says to no one in particular:

"Hello there, what have we here?"

(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: September 10, 2013, 02:56:57 AM by NasT »
Myrielle: "I think you're worth the trouble, even if the others don't."

You know life sucks when you get a back-handed compliment from a seven year old.

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #69 on: September 10, 2013, 04:20:08 PM »
As Caerus lifts the ancient leather pouch, the familiar tinkling of metal-against-metal can be heard.  As he pulls the bag out of the compartment, the bottom tears open and Caerus instinctively ducks down and grabs the falling items before they hit the ground.  The pouch contained large gold coins minted in the ancient fashion with a god's figure on the front face and the local lord's face on the reverse.  While there are only four coins, Caerus estimates the value of each to be around 25gp.
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Offline NasT

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #70 on: September 11, 2013, 12:31:26 AM »
"Damned thing!"

Caerus throws the worthless leather scraps aside.  He rises and holds his clutched hand towards Nelio.

"Add these to the silver if you would...

...So, where to from here?"
Myrielle: "I think you're worth the trouble, even if the others don't."

You know life sucks when you get a back-handed compliment from a seven year old.

Offline crazy_sherm

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #71 on: September 11, 2013, 02:39:28 PM »
"Thank you, Caerus."

Nelio takes the coins from Caerus and studies them briefly, to see if he recognizes the diety depicted.

(click to show/hide)

He then puts them into the pouch with the silver coins.

"Did you notice anything within the crack by the wall? Otherwise, if there doesn't appear to be any other exits in this room, we should probably head back to the initial for near the entrance of the dungeon."

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #72 on: September 12, 2013, 12:09:15 PM »
Nelio recognizes one deity immediately: his own.  The others are Human, Elven, and Dwarven.  The writing is in a language he doesn't recognize.
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Offline crazy_sherm

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #73 on: September 12, 2013, 11:40:12 PM »
How unusual that of the four coins, one just happens to be of Gaerdal Ironhand...

Before leaving the room, something occurs to Nelio that forces him to stop and take out the gold coins again. He studies them a little further and then holds them out to the rest of the party.

"Caerus, Korgan, Flip and Flap, take a look at these coins and tell me if you see anything unusually familiar. Can any of you read the writing?"

Offline NasT

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #74 on: September 13, 2013, 10:31:53 PM »
How unusual that of the four coins, one just happens to be of Gaerdal Ironhand...

Before leaving the room, something occurs to Nelio that forces him to stop and take out the gold coins again. He studies them a little further and then holds them out to the rest of the party.

"Caerus, Korgan, Flip and Flap, take a look at these coins and tell me if you see anything unusually familiar. Can any of you read the writing?"

Caerus peers down at the coins, trying to remember anything relevant that he may have seen in his mother's research tomes.

(click to show/hide)
Myrielle: "I think you're worth the trouble, even if the others don't."

You know life sucks when you get a back-handed compliment from a seven year old.

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #75 on: September 15, 2013, 11:34:29 PM »
The deities are not known to Caerus, but one of the nobles is: The Elven noble is a warrior known as Ecthendir.  The same subject of the statue tribute at the entrance to Norbal.

Both Halflings look at the coins and shrug.  Hoal didn't bother entering the room; instead choosing to stand at the doorway as if to guard it.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2013, 11:36:06 PM by Gnomeo »
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Offline NasT

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #76 on: September 18, 2013, 01:36:54 AM »
The deities are not known to Caerus, but one of the nobles is: The Elven noble is a warrior known as Ecthendir.  The same subject of the statue tribute at the entrance to Norbal.

Both Halflings look at the coins and shrug.  Hoal didn't bother entering the room; instead choosing to stand at the doorway as if to guard it.

Caerus holds up the coin he recognizes.

"This one is Ecthendir.  I don't remember anything about him though..."

His loses interest and, handing the coin back to Nelio decides to wait in the hall with Hoal.
Myrielle: "I think you're worth the trouble, even if the others don't."

You know life sucks when you get a back-handed compliment from a seven year old.

Offline crazy_sherm

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #77 on: September 18, 2013, 06:06:13 PM »
The deities are not known to Caerus, but one of the nobles is: The Elven noble is a warrior known as Ecthendir.  The same subject of the statue tribute at the entrance to Norbal.

Both Halflings look at the coins and shrug.  Hoal didn't bother entering the room; instead choosing to stand at the doorway as if to guard it.

Caerus holds up the coin he recognizes.

"This one is Ecthendir.  I don't remember anything about him though..."

His loses interest and, handing the coin back to Nelio decides to wait in the hall with Hoal.

"Thank you, Caerus. I can see from the look on your face that this type of exercise may not be your forte, but I certainly applaud your effort. Do you recall if it was also Ecthendir that we saw at the entrance to the dungeon?

So, if noone has any more insight into these coins, I suppose we should get moving. Let's head back to the initial fork near the entrance where the elven statue sits.

Offline Gnomeo

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #78 on: September 18, 2013, 06:35:05 PM »
With little else to add, the party falls into line and retraces its steps to the foot of the stairs from the entrance.  Heading south from the alcove, they round an unnecessary bend in the corridor; testament to the chaotic nature of the place.  Soon after this distraction, however, the party comes to a right turn in the corridor ahead.  Peering round the corner, a t-intersection can be seen at the limit of your torchlight.  The two paths head west (a right turn from here) and south (which continues the current direction).

(click to show/hide)
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Offline crazy_sherm

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Re: The Path of Chaos - The Red Gate
« Reply #79 on: September 19, 2013, 12:01:35 PM »
With little else to add, the party falls into line and retraces its steps to the foot of the stairs from the entrance.  Heading south from the alcove, they round an unnecessary bend in the corridor; testament to the chaotic nature of the place.  Soon after this distraction, however, the party comes to a right turn in the corridor ahead.  Peering round the corner, a t-intersection can be seen at the limit of your torchlight.  The two paths head west (a right turn from here) and south (which continues the current direction).

(click to show/hide)

Nelio and Flip head down the corridor and stop just before the T-intersection. Nelio peers around the corner to look down the passageway to heading west.

(click to show/hide)