Nine Swords, a Star, and a Silver Tongue (IC)

[Jormengand]

You fall on your feet.

No, literally. Not metaphorically. You're in a momentary daze, as though you've only just been woken up from a long sleep. Maybe you have, for that matter.

You shake yourself. You look around. You're in a room full of cylindrical glass chambers. Most of them have humanoids in, complete with their equipment. Many of them are broken; others aren't: they're full of some kind of liquid and the creature inside is comatose. The liquid is draining out of your chamber, suggesting that yours was just broken and therefore, you just woke up.

You look around: pandemonium reigns. The only people who seem to be remotely composed are the ones who just woke up: a redheaded human with a sleek greatsword, a human mage of some sort clutching a spear, yet another human, robed as a cleric might be but clearly not one... and a githzerai, longsword in hand, looking as though he was in the midst of defending himself from an attacker when he was captured. Around you, humans, goblins, kobolds, elves, dwarves, and all sorts of others panic, unsure what to do with their newfound freedom - or, indeed, how free they are.

As you step onto the metal floor, it occurs to you that you must be a long way from home.

[AvatarVecna]

Morrigan blinks, before looking down at her habit. "...occurs t'me I might be a wee bit overdressed..." she mutters, before shedding the more bulky robes to reveal a far more sensible outfit beneath - cargo pants, a sensible short-sleeve shirt, and a nice pair of running shoes. Stuffing the outfit into her backpack, she turns to the rest of you and smiles. "Guess I've got an opportunity to make some new friends today! Nice t'meet ya, m'name's Morrigan, Morrigan Murphy." She offers her hand to the closest person with a big smile, eyes occasionally darting around to take in the various dangers.

[AtS]

Red rubs her eyes, not quite believing what she sees. Last I remember, I was on the road, traveling. Alone. Where am I?

She reaches down to grab a shard of glass, wiping it clean of the strange liquid, and turning it over in her hands carefully. Then, she stands, letting the shard drop to her feet. With a quiet shnnk, the swordswoman slides her greatsword into the metal scabbard at her side. She's slightly startled when the robed woman speaks, and then promptly sheds her habit. "Morrigan, huh? My name is Red," she says, after recovering from the initial shock. Red shakes Morrigan's hand, her touch light and graceful. "Where the heck are we?" She asks, of no one in particular, glancing around the room.

[Hypersmith]

Kremet comes to, opens his mouth, then bites his tongue. He was enormously interested in how he got here, and how all these other people got here. What was that liquid? He reaches out and scoops a bit of it up, sniffing it. He rubs it between his fingers to get the texture, then dabs a little on his tongue to taste it, smacking his lips. Well, that was useless. He concentrates for a moment, trying to recall what he last remembered... He was pretty sure he had rubbing his hands on a tree in the middle of a forest, trying to see if he could pry the names out of old or inanimate objects. Trees seemed to be a good compromise. he tries to run a hand through his hair as he looks around, but it's cropped short. When did that happen?

Two women were chatting right nearby. And one gith. Dangerous looking fella. Oooh, were those two women exchanging names? He listens for a moment. Was that woman really named Red? His curiosity gets the better of him, and he leans on his spear as he raises his voice to talk to them. "Red? Holy Mackerel, you reacted. Your name is really Red! And you! Morrigan! Yup, that's your name alright. Nice to meet ya both, I'm myself, me, I, but you can call me Kremet. Dumb name, yeah yeah, but I can hardly go about tossing the real thing out can I? It's too damn long, and it changes! I wouldn't fancy calling you Blue, then Green, an keep cycling through colors every time I want to talk. So yeah, Kremet will be fine, just dandy, swell. So what are you fine folk doing here? You know what happened? Think anyone here is dangerous?"
He keeps on blabbering. It doesn't seem like he's going to stop anytime soon.

[Hish]

Greth assesses the scene, then approaches the only people who seem to have the slightest clue what is happening. He shakes Morrigan's hand. Greth, he says with the approximation of a friendly smile. To the woman with the red hair, he replies Better question is, how do we get out? He looks around the room for some method of egress.

[Jormengand]

Morrigan changes outfit quickly and looks around the room, noticing that everyone seems to be running in the same direction, and panicking when they realise they can't get out that way.

The shard doesn't break as it hits the metal floor. It's made of something quite strong, it seems.

Kremet feels and tastes the fluid, and soon wishes he hadn't. It tastes biological and yet artificial, salty and yet sugary. It flows, but is a little sticky. Apart from Morrigan, you all have clothes still dripping with the stuff.

Greth looks around for an exit, and finds both an exit, and an explanation for why everyone is running away from the only exit: one of the chambers which had broken near the door had contained a large, snarling creature which was swinging an axe around with reckless abandon. One of its swipes misses, the axe clanging into one of the glass chambers and... bouncing off unceremoniously. It has the decency to look slightly perturbed by this, giving the elf who had been trying to fend it off a chance to flee. The creature starts to lumber towards you, with a cry of "I'm not finished with you yet!"



E

F

K

G

E

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E

F

E

E

F

W












C

C



D












C

C



D



F

E

F

E

M

R

E

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F

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W




F are the full, unbroken pods. E are the empty ones. D is the door, W is the wall, and C, K, G, M, and R are the dramatis personae of this encounter. Running further left will lock you into a mass of panicking creatures, which you can do if you want, but that doesn't necessarily look like a good idea either...

So, yeah. Initiative yay!

[Hypersmith]

Woah. When monsters like this one start throwing their weight around, it was time to get serious. Or at least, more serious than before. Serious enough to shut up for a few moments and gather what truespeech he knew in an attempt to force the Word of Nurturing on his foe. He steps out into the middle of the path before cutting across, stepping into an empty glass chamber across the way, between two full ones.

Check[roll0] vs DC 11
[roll1] damage

moving to the bottom left empty spot after.

[AvatarVecna]

Morrigan leaps into action!

Init: [roll0]

Morrigan looks at the panicky crowd behind her, biting her lip before drawing out her pocketknife. "Hey, whoa, sir? Can you please calm down? she asked, approaching the creature carefully and watching the flailing weapon like a hawk. "Somebody could get seriously injured with you swinging that thing around like that." She positioned herself in the corridor the canisters made, between the crowd and the creature.

Action: Dodge, and move from 5-4 to 7-3. If allowed, I'd like to try a persuasion check to sooth the savage beast?

[Hish]

Assuming Morrigan's check fails (if it succeeds, I doubt we'll be doing combat)

Greth rushes in to meet the creature in battle. He swings with a sturdy attack, then falls behind his shield to protect him from the creature's flailing axe

Greth enters his one stance, Martial Spirit. He then moves to the nearest open square that he can hit the creature from, then initiates Stone Bones.
Attack roll: Damage roll: [roll1]
If it hits, Greth has DR 4.
Looks like the forum doesn't want to do those rolls, so I'll try again:
Attack:[roll]1d20+4 Damage:1d8+2
Ahh! So many failed rolls "roll" doesn't look like a word anymore. I'll try putting it in OOC?

[Jormengand]

The raw words of the universe are not on your side today, nor is the silken tongue of poetic speech. However, the language of violence never goes fully misunderstood. Greth strikes the creature with exceptional might, and the orc-like giant roars in pain, then swings back at Greth with its axe, threatening ([roll0]) to cause serious injuries ([roll1]).

It's now everyone's turn again, technically Red, then round restarts, then Morrigan, Kremet, Greth, but again take the turns however you like. The thing hasn't moved and you've gone where you said you were going.

[Hish]

Greth crumbles under the unlucky hit

21 damage, minus 4 from my DR, minus 5 for my delayed damage pool... is 12, exactly my HP total. Now I have to read up on death saving throws.

[Hypersmith]

Keeney peeks around the edge and watches the gith go straight down, feeling lucky he didn't decide to stand his ground. Still, without at least one guy to stand up to it, it would just sweep through them...

He concentrates, forming more clearly the words in his mind - outsider, warrior, injured - Once more, he attempts to summon the Word of Nurturing.

[roll0]vs DC 11.

The word springs forth from him, difficult to comprehend, but cutting through to the subconscious with it's meaning.

Greth heals 1 HP!

[AtS]

Red is a bit slow on the draw, but when the creature rushes up and cuts down the Gith in a single strike, her eyes flash. “We have to save him!”

The swordsage takes a deep breath and focuses her mind, then rushes forward to engage the creature. With a flourish, she draws her greatsword and slashes upward. A keen eye would spot a shadowy double of her blade echoing the strike.

Movement: 15ft forward to meet the creature.
Action: Shadow Blade Technique
To Hit: [roll0]
Advantage: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Crit Damage: [roll3]
Cold Damage (if both rolls hit): [roll4]

[AvatarVecna]

"Hey, whoa, not cool!" Morrigan shouts at the creature, before stepping forward and taking a stab at it.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit Damage: [roll2]

[Jormengand]

The creature roars as Morrigan's dagger hits it, but something about Red's massive sword freaks it out a little, and it goes for her instead, attempting to land [roll0] a hit [roll1] on the swordsage.

[AtS]

Red deftly ducks under the creature's swing, and then grabs the creatures arm, attempting to use the momentum of its own attack to throw it backward, away from the group. "Give us a little space, why don't you?"

Action: Initiate Comet Throw on the creature. It makes a DC 12 DEX save, or takes [roll0] damage, is thrown back 5 ft, and falls prone.
Movement: If the creature is successfully thrown, Red moves back 5 ft.
Reaction: If Red is attacked next turn, she will initiate Close Counter if able (the creature should have to move 10 ft. to reach her if the throw worked). The creature makes a DC 12 STR save. If it fails, the attack is prevented and the creature will be thrown backwards 10 ft. again.

[Hish]

Greth continues to bleed on the floor This is some interesting action!

Death saving throw: [roll0]

[Hypersmith]

As the essence of nurturing eludes him once more, Kreme frowns, and makes to step out in order to attack the beast himself - until Red sends it sprawling. Well that was far better than he could ever hope to do. Maybe the peace of mind would help him concentrate enough to save this alien looking fellow...
crosses fingers [roll0]vs DC 11 Greth heals 1 HP if successful.

[Jormengand]

The nurturing effect finally takes hold, and Kremet heals Greth just in time for the latter to wake up, ready to act... if slightly on the floor.

That death save isn't necessary, and the comet throw fails. Greth and Morrigan can do a thing.

[AvatarVecna]

Morrigan keeps up the pressure, slicing away again at the creature (although watching her step as she skirts around it, because there's debris everywhere and she could trip).

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] (+[roll2] if crit)

[Hish]

Greth looks back at Kremit and says Thank you. He carefully rises from prone and steps out of the creature's reach

I use the disengage action and move 15 feet back from the creature.
I also get a new maneuver: [roll0]

[Jormengand]

The creature dodges Red's grab, but howls as Morrigan inserts her dagger into it again, and attempts [roll0] to strike back [roll1] at her with its battleaxe.

[AvatarVecna]

Third verse, same as the first.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] (+[roll2] if crit)

[AtS]

Red brandishes her greatsword in a spinning flourish, dragging the blade across the floor. Sparks fly from steel on steel and red embers surround the creature floating unnaturally around its form, distracting it and illuminating its shape.

Action: Burning Flourish, DC 11 DEX saving throw or Faerie Fire effect (everyone gets advantage on attacks).

[Hish]

Happy to be conscious again, Greth takes a moment to gather his focus. He throws up his hand and a ball of glowing light flies toward the creature.

A question: Is Vanguard Strike supposed to be melee only? I looked over it several times and I couldn't see anything that said that, but 3.5 Vanguard Strike is melee only. If it is melee only, clearer wording would be good.

If I can use it at range: Greth initiates Vanguard Strike.
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]

If it can't be used at range: Greth pulls a Javelein from his pack and throws it (and ignore that fluff bit about the ball of light).
Attack: [roll2] Damage: [roll3] Crit damage: [roll4]

Also, a new maneuver: [roll5]

[Hypersmith]

Kremet continues to focus on maintaining the word. In the meanwhile, he charges forward to thrust his spear at the beast!
[roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit?:[roll2]

[Jormengand]

The creature dodges away from Morrigan and Kremet, but is struck by the vanguard strike and lit up by Red's burning fire. On its last legs, it attempts to attack her in retaliation... but is thrown back by the swordsage. The creature snarls, and mauls a glowing panel next to the door, trying in vain to activate it.

[Hish]

Spurred on by the apparent shift in the battle, but still cautious of the axe, Greth drops his sword, draws a javelin from his pack, and throws it.


Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit damage: [roll2]

[AtS]

Red maintains her concentration, supernaturally preserving the embers floating around the creature. "I'm sorry it had to be this way," she says grimly as she launches herself into the air, greatsword held aloft for a cleaving blow on the downswing. She uses the force of her entire weight to strike the creature in a reckless gambit, attempting to end the beast where it stands. "This ends here."

Free: Maintain concentration on Burning Flourish
Action: Attack using Great Weapon Master
Attack: [roll0]
Advantage: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Crit Damage: [roll3]

Everyone has Advantage on attacks against the creature due to the Faerie Fire effects of Burning Flourish.

[AvatarVecna]

Morrigan takes another stab at it, almost tripping over some loose cords as she slashes away.

Attack: [roll0]
Advantage: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2] (+[roll3] if crit)

[Hypersmith]

Kremet grins at the display of strength from his newfound partners, taking advantage of the distraction to try another thrust of his own. He continues to hold the word.
[roll0]
Advantage [roll1]
[roll2]
Crit:(?) [roll3]

[Hish]

Greth seems to take a moment to shift his patterns, then throws another glowing orb.


Attack: [roll0]
Advantage: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[Jormengand]

The heroes sweep in, and the creature is already long dead by the time the final blow is struck. It collapses pitifully, its weapons falling to the ground. You suppose you might be able to use its battleaxe, although only in two hands and a real greataxe would do that job better. Its javelins, similarly, could pass for two-handed spears. Its armour, though, is simply too large to use.

More importantly, though, is what it collapsed up against - the door is massive and clearly made of some kind of metal, probably steel. It's a double-door of some kind, with an interlocking pattern between the two doors. They're clearly meant to slide outwards, but there's no handle to allow them to do so, only a panel on the side.

The panel isn't in common, but the symbols are obvious enough - they follow a logical progression, one just a vertical line, one a vertical line with a flick down and left at the top of it, one a vertical line with a flick down and left and a flick down and right, like a T with its arms pushed down 45 degrees like an arrow pointing up, and so forth. These symbols make up the first nine of twelve buttons. One is plain green, one of them is like the ones above it except that it just has a single dot in the centre of it instead of any lines, and one is plain red. Above that is a glass screen with four horizontal lines on it. The first two lines have symbols - the ninth listed symbol, which looks like an arrow pointing both up and down with a cross in the middle, and the third symbol, which looks like the arrow pointing up - already on them, but you can only guess that this was from the creature's frantic mauling and nothing to do with the correct use of the panel.

Those who fled the combat are in mass panic on the other side of the corridor still, squabbling and arguing but not actively fighting each other.

[AtS]

"Guess I'm gonna try to figure this thing out..." Red says, apprehensively approaching the panel. First, she tries pressing the red button. "Red for Red," she jokes, winking as she presses the button. She waits to observe the panel's behavior before continuing.

[Hish]

Greth walks to Kremit, and says Thank you for helping. Sorry I got hurt. He then goes to the panel, assesses it, and dismisses it. Difficult, he says, and walks to the door. He investigates the hinges, the material of the door, and the surrounding walls.


So the panel looks something like this? What goes in the blank circles?
Https://s8.postimg.cc/qdvguzv3p/panel.png

[Jormengand]

Red pushes the red button, and the two symbols on the horizontal lines disappear, leaving the lines blank.

The wall, door and floor all seem, at least to be superficial inspection, to be made of steel. The door has no visible hinges; presumably it's a sliding door of some kind. The floor is made up of discrete panels, though they are attached to one another.



So the panel looks something like this? What goes in the blank circles?
Https://s8.postimg.cc/qdvguzv3p/panel.png


The horizontal lines are all on a level with each other, and short, like in a game of hangman.

The symbols you currently have in positions five and six are actually in positions 4 and 5, then symbols 6, 7, 8 and 9 add in the arms of an X one by one in reading order. The dot in position eleven is also a lot smaller than you have it.

[AtS]

Thought so, Red thinks as the panel’s behavior confirms her suspicions. She glances at the Gith, currently inspecting the door. “Greth,” Red warns, “watch out. I’m gonna try something. Just in case.” Having warned her new comrade, she presses the buttons in the first four positions in order, then presses the green button. With steely calm, she waits for the door or panel to respond.

[Hypersmith]

Kremet leans on his spear jovially. He gives Greth a smile and nod, though he doesn't speak as he holds his concentration on the word as long as possible. He peeks over Red's shoulder as she tries out a combination. He thinks for a few moments, then - "All these people making noise, I can't concentrate! Let's try this one- he points at the button in position one - "-Then this one-" He points at the button in position nine. "Just so we can get some contrast on the simplest in comparison to the most complex."

[Jormengand]

Unfortunately, Red's sequence does nothing aside from causing the machine to emit a short, illegible message - some of the symbols look a little like runes, but it's almost certainly coincidence - and then return to the four empty lines.

One of the symbols in the error message is the third symbol on the panel.

[AtS]

Red throws up her hands in frustration. “I really have no idea what I’m doing here. Maybe someone who actually has a clue can give it a whirl.” She steps aside to let someone else take over. “Sorry Kremet. Puzzle got the best of me,” she says, apologetically.

[AvatarVecna]

Morrigan starts making her way over, before tripping over some loose cables and glass, smashing facefirst into the side of the panel. The close look she gets, though, might be useful in figuring out which ones have been pressed a bunch...

Investigation: [roll0]

[Jormengand]

Morrigan trips, and slams into the panel. It hurts; the buttons combined offer a surprising deal of resistance - they're a little stiff, as though not used very often.

Think: there is a mass of creatures panicking in this room, the panel appears not to be used very often, the door is made of steel, this room contains glass chambers full of creatures, the chambers have been broken, four adventurers were placed very near each other, and none of you knows who the others are.
Three of these pieces of information don't add up.
There is a mass of creatures panicking in this room, the panel appears not to be used very often, none of you knows who the others are.
How can the panel not be used very often if a large number of creatures have been taken into this room, separately?You don't know why, but you're reminded of an obscure sect of monks who lie on beds of spikes.
You remember that there was actually a clever trick to how they managed to get all those spikes to support them...
The trick is that multiple objects which couldn't individually support a weight can together, so the combined area of the spikes - and the combined stiffness of the buttons - prevent the spike piercing the skin or the button being pressed.

(OOC: Yes, intelligence (insight) (http://5e.d20srd.org/srd/skills/abilityChecks.htm#variantSkillsWithDifferentAbilit ies))

[Hish]

Greth sees no point in messing around with the panel unless we have some other information about the code. I mean, the first line has ten options, then the other lines also have ten options, and there are four lines, and that makes... a lot of options. Greth contines to poke around the door and the walls of the room while thinking about the evidence that he already has.


My justification is that looking around and pondering is probably what Greth would do anyway.
Inteligence (insight):[roll0]

[AvatarVecna]

"Well it certainly seems the be some kind of number pad - the dot button is probably zero, since it has no lines - but beyond that I'm unsure. Originally it had what seems to be '9' on one row and '3' on another, with no other information to act on. It's possible that whatever we need to put in is all supposed to be on the first line, with the second line being some kind of 'wrong, you have 3 tries left' or something, or maybe it's like...a type-3 error, whatever that means for this machine. If we have limited guesses at figuring out what the panel means, though, I don't wanna waste them frivolously testing theories."

"Additionally, my close-proximity tactile investigation of the buttons didn't seem to press any down, which is kinda weird given how much force my investigation involved. My best guess as to why that is...maybe it's made for much larger or stronger creatures to press, to prevent captives from using the panel, maybe? So something like that creature smashing away can press buttons, but somebody like me...wait, no, Red was able to press buttons...hrm..." Morrigan looks quite flummoxed.

[AtS]

"The close proximity of the panel and the door, and the creature's frantic actions lead us to believe that the panel controls the door. But look at it, it's hardly used, and yet there are so many damn people in this room? How'd we all get in here without any wear and tear on the panel if the panel opens the door? Maybe it doesn't open the door?" The swordswoman is thinking hard, trying to puzzle out an answer to the conundrum.

Red takes a look back at the long room and counts up how many glass chambers line the walls.

[AvatarVecna]

"The close proximity of the panel and the door, and the creature's frantic actions lead us to believe that the panel controls the door. But look at it, it's hardly used, and yet there are so many damn people in this room? How'd we all get in here without any wear and tear on the panel if the panel opens the door? Maybe it doesn't open the door?" The swordswoman is thinking hard, trying to puzzle out an answer to the conundrum.

Red takes a look back at the long room and counts up how many glass chambers line the walls.

"It seems like it's been used a lot - there's lots of people in here, after all - but it also seems stiff from disuse. So...maybe it was used a lot a long time ago, and not used since? If this was some kind of...people storage place...maybe the people storing us died a long time ago? And there was some kinda system in place to wake us up after certain period of time if nothing happened? Or maybe just it's been long enough that whatever system was keeping us contained just...failed to continue doing so."

[Jormengand]

There must be at least a hundred chambers, of which around sixty are broken, the rest still containing a variety of creatures. The remaining fifty-five or so inhabitants aside from you and the half-ogre - some seeming to be other adventurer-types - are moving slowly towards you, as the less rowdy ones back away from the ones having heated arguments. Two of them are pointing swords at each other, and a fight looks about to break out. People are also moving towards you since they're starting to realise that there's exit in the room - or at least, only one door that leads out. Each of the chambers has its own little control panel, and the door seems to be the only other thing in the room that could possibly be operated by a control panel.

The floor and walls seem to be undamaged even by having the large creature and its weapons strike them, so attempts to break out by force will require slightly more careful application of it. Plus, that means that you can't easily tell much about how much the room has been used just by looking at it, since an army could march through here without ever denting the floors - the creature mauling the panel doesn't seem to have dealt it appreciable damage, either, and its axe had bounced off even the glass of the chambers.

[AtS]

"Uh oh," Red says to her newfound companions, much more confident in their ability to stay calm and calculated under pressure than anyone in the approaching crowd of panicking people. "So, uh, how about I try to keep everyone else back, give you guys some space to work this out. First, I'll try words, but if it comes to it," she pats her sheathed greatsword and lets the words hang.

Unfortunately for Red, she doesn't have the time to wait for a response. The crowd is getting closer and closer to crowding around the panel, and at that point, her group's control over the situation is sure to go out the window. She steps forward to appease the growing crowd around them. "Hey everyone! We're all confused, we're all tired, and we all want out of here!" she shouts, trying to get the attention of the crowd. "There's a steel door that traps us here, and a panel that might be our ticket out of here. My associates," she gestures behind her at Kremet, Greth, and Morrigan, "are working as hard as they can to figure this out. We gotta be careful and organized about this, so, let's all wait patiently!" Red crosses her fingers, hoping that her appeal will calm down the crowd.

Charisma (Persuasion): [roll0]

[Hypersmith]

Kremet continues to lean on his spear, trying to focus with the noise in the background. He tries counting the buttons, drumming his fingers, biting his tongue, but the noise just won't stop. He manages to keep himself from turning and shouting at them to shut up just because he knows it won't do any good. He focuses on Red and Morrigan with a strained smile. "It would be nice to get them to be quiet, or at least keep them off our backs."
He turns to frown at the panel. "It could be that only people our size are meant to be able to operate the panel? If you can't press down multiple buttons at once, it could be to stop someone with huge fingers from pressing. In which case, maybe our own chamber's control panels have something to do with what we need to input?"

[Jormengand]

The two people who were crossing swords - one a drow woman with a shortsword and one a human nobleman brandishing a rapier - keep their weapons raised, but the human turns to look at you. The drow seizes her opportunity, driving her weapon into the man's neck. Everyone backs away from the drow a little. "You think you're in charge here? I challenge you to a duel."

Several people grab weapons and start trying to form a perimeter around the drow - they would probably attack if you tried to gang up on her. Of course, you could refuse to fight...

[AtS]

“I never back down from a challenge.” Red says, her voice cold and her steely gaze meeting the drow’s. She locks eyes with her foe, unblinking. She takes a deep breath and focuses her mind, preparing for battle.

Red readies Shadow Blade Technique.

Maneuvers
[_] Burning Flourish
[_] Close Counter
[_] Comet Throw
[R] Shadow Blade Technique

Initiative: [roll0]

[Hypersmith]

Kremet casts a glance back at the duel, his eyes flashing with annoyance. He mumbles under his breath, more a movement of tongue than an intention to produce sound - a single syllable, then a rapid description.

Syllable of Detachment [roll0] vs DC12. Proficiency bonuses halved on success for one minute (concentration)

[Hish]

Greth looks nervously at the situation developing behind him. If the fight turns bad, he's in no condition to defend Red. Still keeping an eye out, he says It is possible, Kremit. I will look at the other panels. Greth looks at the panels on the four chambers nearest the door (looking at the map, two are full, two are empty).

[Jormengand]

The drow scowls. "I know your tricks, mage! I see you there!" She whips out a small crossbow and fires it at Red, while two hooded men draw their swords and point them at Kremet threateningly. If he wants to involve himself in the fight, it might quickly turn into a brawl...

[roll0] hit [roll1] damage [roll2] critdamage. On a hit, Red must take a DC 13 CON save.

Greth takes a glance at the panels and immediately realises that they're not going to provide any hints as to how to open the door: they're completely different from the door panel. The symbols are clearly in the same language, but none is identical to any of the number symbols. If you're feeling lucky you could try pressing some buttons and see what they do: there are six buttons, each of which clearly has two words on: some of the words are identical...

There are six buttons, three on one line, and three directly below the others on another line. They read:

DJAQ AQU - HADA AWX - HA ECA
DJAQ AJU - HADA APO - HA HECA

(The letters chosen above just tell you which symbols are the same, not what the symbols actually look like.)

Inside one of the chambers is an orc with two swords, his face scarred and frozen into a battle cry that never ended. The other nearby inhabitant is fully clad in armour - who knows who they are?

Each turn, those who are fighting fight as normal, and those who aren't get a chance to attempt some activity involving an attempt to solve the puzzle... or they can try to get involved in combat, of course.

[AtS]

The Drow’s bolt strikes Red square in the chest, piercing directly through her armor and sinking deep into her flesh. She coughs, crimson staining her lips. “Nice hit. Now it’s my turn.”

Though bloodied, she’s still up. She rushes forward to meet the drow, drawing her greatsword and launching herself into a reckless, spinning aerial strike, her shadow double whirling just a split second behind her.

Movement: Up to the Drow
Action: Shadow Blade Technique, activating Great Weapon Master.
Attack: [roll0]
Advantage: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Crit Damage: [roll3]
Cold Damage: [roll4]

---

Maneuvers
[_] Burning Flourish
[_] Close Counter
[_] Comet Throw
[_] Shadow Blade Technique

Current HP: 3/10

[Jormengand]

The drow collapses to the floor, defeated instantly by Red's attack. There's murmuring amongst the people in the room. "Well, I guess that concludes the leadership challenge," one of them jokes, as others rush to make sure that the drow - and the human nobleman - are healed "Okay, I say enough. Whether we live or die, we do it together. There's no point killing each other to prove a point."

A dwarf bustles through the ranks. "Now, I'm not going to challenge you for leadership, because whatever that shadow thing was, I don't want to be the next to experience it. But I say that panel's our best way out of here. If not, the floor's the weakest point in this room."

The drow coughs up blood as she shoves aside the acolyte who just healed her. "Pah. There's no use wandering into the people who made this place and fighting them on their terms. But one thing we do need is not to spend any more effort weakening each other. You've won, through whatever means that was. Your choice, but don't expect me to stick around to get slaughtered if you do open that door into an army or something."

The men who were pointing swords at Kremet lower them, but everyone still has hands on their weapons, and most of them remain drawn. Whatever you do, it doesn't take a genius to tell that you need to do it quickly.

[Hypersmith]

Kremet drops his concentration on the syllable, allowing its influence on the drow to cease. He waves a hand at the acolyte -"You there! Help my friend Red here out too." - before he turns his back on the hooded men to look at the panel once more. He mutters. "However long we've been in here, or how we got here for that matter, are less immediate concerns than getting away before we're mobbed."

"I'm not seeing any reason to favor a specific combination over another at this point. I say we try three digits, and try to make sense of any message that pops up after. Lets hope three isn't the number of attempts left."

[Hish]

Greth breathes a sigh of relief as the fight ends.

I don't want to open it by accident, Greth says, stepping away from the panel. He turns to the dwarf. The floor. It is probable that it is the best path. How do you recommend to open the way?

[AtS]

“Oh, leader? I’m no leader. More of a wanderer. Unless we’re all wandering, then I suppose I could lead...” Red’s voice trails off, but then she steps up to the drow and offers a hand to help the dark elf to her feet. “You fight well. I respect another warrior who isn’t afraid to cross blades. But I do wonder where you expect to run off to, should this door open up to an army after all.” She glances at the door, the only apparent exit in the entire hallway.

[Jormengand]

"The floor is made up of these individual panels, and you can see that they've got holes in for draining, which is why we're not covered in whatever that stuff was. But I imagine it'd be tough to pry them apart. My best guess is to see if there's a way you can exert a huge amount of force on them."

He produces a thick crowbar and slots it into the floor panel, then stands on the other end. The crowbar doesn't bend, nor does the panel move. He hops a little on the end of the bar to no effect. You'll need to find something that exerts more force than a dwarf in mail jumping up and down on the end of the crowbar."

The drow takes Red's hand to pull herself to her feet. "No need to humour me, wanderer. I know that I'm no match for you."

She considers a moment. "Maybe we can't help wandering into an army. But if we're going to, we should at least try to catch them by surprise." She walks up to the panel on the orc's chamber. "Presumably, the top row of these does stuff, and the bottom row reverses that stuff."

She pushes the button marked "HADA APO", only to receive an error message on the screen saying "HADA HAPO A HA A"

"I'm pretty confident that this symbol means "Not" or "Anti"", she says, pointing at the H symbol. "Not sure what this symbol is, but it comes up a lot." She points at the A symbol. "So it must mean some kind of concept that's really common, but not necessarily a whole word that's really common?"

She gives up, and walks over to the panel on the wall. "Hmm. This one, of course, only a few of the buttons are ever going to be useful. But which ones?"

Finally, the human acolyte chants a spell of healing on Red. "Esdi, enyu, owu! Eiyar, ucie!" [roll0] "That's my last one, I'm afraid. Try not to get into any more scrapes."

[AtS]

Red gives the human acolyte a nod of thanks for the healing, brushing her blazing red hair out of her face. The swordsage then takes a seat, cross-legged on the ground. "I will meditate and think about how to escape. A calm mind makes answers clearer," she explains, closing her eyes and assuming a contemplative pose. She takes a deep breath and lets the room wash away, her thoughts drawing inward, centralizing her focus. Alone with her thoughts, Red concentrates on finding a way out.

Panel. Nine numbers. Four choices. Crowbar. Strong floor. Stronger force.

Red meditates and readies new maneuvers.

Maneuvers
[R] Blazing Flourish
[R] Clinging Shadow Strike
[R] Diamond Mind
[R] Shadow Blade Technique

Current HP: 9/10

[Hypersmith]

Kremet furrows his brow as he punches in a three button combination -the dot, three times, then hits the green button and watches the little screen for a reaction. He mutters to the drow. "Who knows. Whatever is on the other side of this door should be better than staying stuck in here though."

[Jormengand]

Kremet pushes the dot three times, then the green button. The panel flashes up the same error message as before, only with the second symbol replacing the third.

The dot button is pretty stiff.
The green button, by comparison, isn't.

"There's got to be some way to tell which of these buttons you actually need to get out of this place, but I don't think that was it, somehow," she replies wryly.

[Hish]

A crowbar...
Greth dismisses his own items. They are too short or too flimsy. He looks around for a substitute.

Presumably the handle of the axe of the large creature is wooden? Does the creature have any spears or javelins? Baring that, do any of the other adventurers have a spear sticking up above the crowd?

[Jormengand]

None of the dead creature's items seem as though they would work better than the crowbar the dwarf has already presented.

[AtS]

Red opens her eyes, ending her trance. Unfortunately, no good ideas spring to mind for the puzzle with the panel, but she does notice Greth searching for a suitable item to provide leverage. She indicates to her pack, and the shovel hanging from a loop to the side. She unstraps the tool and hands it to the Gith. "Maybe this will do the trick. Are you going to try to do it by hand, or should we push over one of the glass chambers onto the handle to provide the force?" The swordsage is a little unsure how this'll play out, or if the handle of the shovel will even withstand the force of the impact, but she figures it's at least worth a try.

[Hypersmith]

Kremet sighs again. "Some of these buttons are stiffer than others, but with no way to tell how long it's been since this panel was used, I'm not sure how to apply that. Worse, it looks like we only have two tries left at the panel... He scratches his chin for a few moments as he thinks more, then pushes at the other buttons, testing them for their stiffness while trying not to trigger their functions.