Planescape: Center of All - IC

[kinem]

Center doesn't have an appropriate key.

He says "Perhaps we should have picked up a knock wand."

[paradox26]

"Well, live and learn, I suppose. We will have to pick one up when we return to civilisation," Taric says to Center. He has the ability to make his weapon adamantine as well, but decides that using magic to open the door is the better option at this stage, for purposes of stealth.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra shrugs at Center's comment. "Perhaps, or a chime of opening. Disintegrate works, even if it is perhaps a bit too powerful."
Not missing a beat, she extends her finger, and fires another green ray at the nonmagical door.

OOC: Casting disintegrate at it.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash smiles, pleased to see the five of them beginning to coalesce as a group. It would certainly help their survival in times to come. As Eilyra fires at the door, Ash drops down toward the ground, the better to see what's beyond.

[kinem]

As the disintegrate ray hits the door, it vanishes, as does the door :)

Beyond the doorway, it's dark, and even out in the tunnel you feel a deep chill of cold from within. Darkvision doesn't penetrate the darkness.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra looks into the darkened tunnel and frowns. It appears that a certain amount of magical darkness is present here to empathize the mystery and strangeness of the temple. Probably to cover the cheap construction work. I suppose this is what the third set of robes were meant to protect against.
Knowing that she didn't bother to carry a source of light, Eilyra reaches into her pouch to pull out one of the purple robes, before she puts it on over her armor, and peers down the passage.

[Toliudar]

Ash

As Eilyra reaches for her purple cloak, Ash does with the black one, testing whether the extraordinary sensory powers of the cloak overcome the darkness beyond. If not, she scoops a small stone from the floor and intones a simple spell of light upon it, and then tosses it into the passage.

[paradox26]

Taric drops down to small size, then he places the appropriate robe for cold resistance over his body as best he can. He then starts to move very carefully down the corridor, relying on his dark vision and low light vision abilities to allow him to see. Of course, he muses, it is possible that the darkness is magical, in which case he may still be unable to see. In which case, he will need to rely upon the casters in the party once again.

[kinem]

Spoiler: Eilyra

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With the purple robe on, although you feel a chill, it's lessened. However, beyond the doorway, you see nothing; it's totally dark, even to darkvision.

Spoiler: Ash

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When you put the black robe back on, you once again see the 'spirit'. He shakes his head at you.

However, the darkness beyond the doorway appears unchanged.

Ash casts a spell of light on a stone and tosses it through the doorway. Once it passes through the doorway, it's no longer visible; the light is instantly swallowed by the darkness. However, you hear the stone clatter onto stony ground.

Taric puts on a purple robe as best he can, and steps through the doorway.

Spoiler: Taric

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The purple robe does the trick, and while you still feel a deep chill, the cold doesn't harm you. However, you see nothing, even with your darkvision.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Ash nods, disappointed in being right, as her stone disappears into the darkness. She sends to her colleagues as she pulls off the black cloak and stows it away again.

*Eilyra, you said something about a torch you found? The followers of Tharizdun must have some way to see in this darkness. Maybe this would be a good place to try the torch.*

[Archmage1]

Eilyra nods, before she reaches into her bag to pull out the torch, the incense, and her monocle. "It seems wise to identify these, before attempting to use them, as they may be a trap. It'll take a couple of minutes."
With that, she leans against the chill wall, and starts to use the monocle to identify the torch and incense.

[Cavir]

Avakuss steps up to the edge of the darkness and puts his hand into it to test his own significant resistance to cold. If that isn't enough he puts on the purple robes then waits for Eilyra.

[kinem]

Avakuss tries reaching into the darkness, then swiftly pulls his hand back as the frost bites even him.

OOC: He took 1 damage. Cold resistance or immunity does not block this damage.

Meanwhile, Eilyra studies the torch and incense with the monocle.

Spoiler: Eilyra

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When you place the incense of dreaming into the torch's cup and light it, the torch of revealing casts violet light in a 10-foot radius and fills the air with a dreadful chill, and causes that torch to chase away the gloom found in temples and shrines dedicated to the Dark God and also reveals magically hidden items and features of these locations. Burning the incense outside of the torch produces no special effects.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns as she considers the magic that forms in the interaction of the incense and the torch. Revealing that which is hidden from the eyes of the unenlightened? Why do I not like the sound of that? But it probably does explain the use of that statue in the other room.
"It seems that the torch and the incense will dispel the gloom within a small area, but it will also reveal various hidden secrets. But it also won't burn forever, and there wasn't much incense. Let's check the rooms we've passed through earlier first, before we proceed deeper into the complex."
With that, she quickly moves towards the statue room, and places one piece of the incense into the torch, before lighting it with a casual use of her flaming sword.

[kinem]

The torch casts violet light in a 10-foot radius and fills the air with a dreadful chill.

Though Eilyra's hypothesis about the statue is a reasonable one, the torch's light doesn't reveal anything unusual about the statue.

[Archmage1]

Eilyra quickly checks the rest of the room, making sure that the light of the torch hits all the walls, before heading to the prison room, and performing a similar search.

[kinem]

Eilyra's search with the torch doesn't reveal anything in either room.

The prisoner, seeing what she's doing, calls out "You look for secrets? Free me now, and I will show you a secret thing."

[Archmage1]

This, then, must be the prisoner. And it seems... interesting that someone with the full robes of the order that imprisoned him, and the torch doesn't inspire fear. Perhaps the holes I tore for my wings are emboldening it?
Eilyra frowns, slightly at the question, and her thoughts. "Perhaps you can tell me about it? I believe the plan is to release you as we leave, to improve your chances of survival."

[kinem]

The man says "No tell. Survive? I did that all these years. Want freedom!"

[Cavir]

Avakuss pulls his hand back from the darkness. His psionics protected him from real harm (temporary hp). "Even superb resistance is bested. Interesting. I wonder if we mange to not use all the incense if it can be duplicated."

"Wanted to make sure there were no immediate surprises behind the door. If the cult had him under control they wouldn't need two levels of imprisonment." Avakuss drives his large adamantine powered greatsword through the locking mechanism then pushes the gate open. "Antis, you understand if you step through the wrong portal you'll die instantly right?"

[Archmage1]

Eilyra looks concerned as Avakuss frees the prisoner, but she doesn't take any action to stop him from doing so.

[Toliudar]

Ash

While Eilyra and Avakuss negotiated with the prisoner, Ash settles to the ground near the dark tunnel and conjures a panoply of eyes, which she sends off down the tunnel.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ash casts Greater Prying Eyes and sends the 23 eyes into the tunnel, with instructions to split up and explore as far as they can, by touch if need be, and to turn around to report after going for 10 minutes.

[kinem]

Avakuss breaks open the gate to the prisoner's cell; Antis is still chained to the wall at this point.

Antis says "Don't worry about that. I understand much."

[kinem]

Spoiler: Ash

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Based on what happened when Avakuss stuck his hand into the darkness, you can guess that the Prying Eyes would not survive the cold in that room.

[Cavir]

"Excellent, I look forward to what you can share." Avakuss sizes up Antis. Signs of martial training? A book worm? Farmer? Avakuss knew this could be a trap, but better to find out now and hoped there was much to gain. He broke the chains still holding the now former prisoner.

[Toliudar]

Ash

Thinking better of her foolish gambit, Ash goes to examine the statue that had been found with the torch.

Spoiler: OOC

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Thank you, Kinem. That was stupid of me.

Instead, she casts Spiritual Advisor and tries to get any sense of the significance or meaning of the statue.
Knowledge check of your choice: (1d20+13)[31], +4 if it's dugeoneering or nobility, +9 if religion or planes, +10 if history, +14 if it's arcana or local.

[kinem]

Ash goes into the cavern with the man-sized iron statue and examines it. Its body resembles that of an armored man, but its head has four faces, one facing each direction (forward, left, right, behind).

Spoiler: Ash

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Tharizdun has sometimes been said to have four aspects, which came to be associated with the four Elements. This statue could be an early depiction of that.

Avakuss inspects the prisoner, before freeing him. The swarthy man in the tan pants is built like a warrior; on the muscular side, though not nearly as muscular as the goliath himself.

"Thank you! A good deed!" Antis tells Avakuss as he steps away from the wall and pulls off the remaining shackles. He does a few stretches and dusts himself off.

"Come, I show you secret now."

When Antis heads out of the cavern, he turns and notes that the cross tunnel now ends in a dark opening instead of a door.

He heads over to the iron statue which Ash is looking at. He looks it over, then presses a spot on the back of the statue. This causes a section of the back to swing outward, opening a well-concealed compartment in the statue that Eilyra had overlooked. (OOC: Search DC 30)

From the compartment, he pulls out a black iron rod, 18 inches long and a half-inch wide. The rod has an aura of strong evocation magic that had been concealed by the thick metal of the statue.

Antis says "I said I would show you. Not give you. There is another thing I want you to see."

Grasping the rod, he makes a sort of strange giggle and begins to head towards the black opening where the door had been ...

[Cavir]

"What does the rod do?"

[kinem]

“You will see” he replies and continues down the tunnel.

OOC: Let me know if any PC will take any action at this point.

[Cavir]

Spoiler: OOC

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Sense Motive on Antis for his answer and his movement. (1d20+16)[22]