Chapter I: Damring Fortress, Part 1

[Simon]

Harlan Wax

Harlan Wax hustles up to the door, just a few paces behind Agrom and grumbling, though the mysterious light pouring through the crack in the double doors has piqued his curiosity and soothed his anger. He peers around Agrom into the room and catches sight of the floating stone. Well I'll be damned...never seen anything like it in my life! Ag, Raize, what is it?

[Keehnelf]

Raizenbrayne's eyes gleam at the sight of the circle of power surrounding the stone. His eyes wander over to the stand standing just out of torchlight off to the right—a lectern, maybe?—before returning his attention to the circle of power. Taking a step toward the stone, the old door hinges of the entryway squeak behind him; an exasperated Agrom appears between the doors, obviously having second thoughts about this whole enterprise.

'Look, someone's been maintaining a circle of power in here!' 'Brayne walks up to the perimeter of the circle and examines it.

Are the effects of the circle apparent, or does Raizenbrayne know whether there are any procedures he'd have to take before crossing the boundary?

Raizenbrayne knows from his training that you never, EVER step across the perimeter of a circle of power without first figuring out what it is or what it's doing. Its function is not immediately obvious from casual observation, unless you want to be an uneducated bumpkin and assume that it's just holding up that glowing rock.

[sulldawga]

Agrom

What's a circle of power? Do I want to be anywhere nearby when you mess with it?

Over his shoulder back toward Harlan...

Harlan, you coming? Raiz is about to light himself on fire, I think. Should be entertaining for at least a minute.

[Simon]

Right here Ag...safely behind you. Raize! Is it safe? Can we come in? If you catch fire can I have your share of the loot?

[Starbeard]

Right.

Raizenbrayne rolls his voluminous sleeves and cracks his knuckles with no small amount of flair. 'Gentlemen, what we have here is a circle of… well, something. I'll find out soon enough, and in the meantime, eh, yes… safely behind me is probably a good place to be. A colleague of mine once had to spend two years carrying her stomach about in a basket after walking across one of these. This one looks pretty simple to crack, though.'

With that, Raizenbrayne stoops down and just avoids touching his nose to the circle on the ground, using his free hand to trace the little patterns into the air and commit them to memory, calling upon his Lore Master (or would it be research?) skills to deduce what power lies behind this arcane enchantment. This isn't the first circle of power he's handled, but it is the first one he's encountered outside of the academy, and the textbook nonchalance with which he tests the magic betrays his rather Foolhardy nature.

I'm not at home to refer to the rules, is it possible to invoke my Trait against myself if it isn't a contested roll? And can others help if I do?

[Keehnelf]

Lore Master is the appropriate skill here, with Scholar or Theologian as appropriate Helps.

You absolutely can invoke a trait against yourself in an unopposed roll. Right now it looks like the following:

Lore Master 3D + Fresh 1D - Foolhardy 1D = 3D Total vs. Ob2 to discern the nature and purpose of the circle.

It doesn't look like anyone else has a skill that can help, so let me know if there's anything else that you think should be modifying the roll or just roll away!

[Starbeard]

Sounds good to me, let's do this!

[1d6] = 1, [1d6] = 3, [1d6] = 1

…

'…Well, it certainly isn't fake, that's for sure. I think. Tell you what, I'll just test it.' Raizenbrayne looks around his feet for a small stone, and cursing the recently swept floor, fishes out the little pouch of wolfsbane tucked into his belt and lightly tosses it into the centre of the ring.

[Keehnelf]

Wow.

[sulldawga]

Time to duck?

[Keehnelf]

Time to duck?

Thankfully you don't get to share Conditions if you don't help in any way. And this is definitely a Conditions-type failure.

Update incoming in about 5 minutes.

[Keehnelf]

12 Brightmorn, 814 - Turn 5 - A Strange and Mysterious Room in Dim, Flickering Blue Light

Raizenbrayne casually and scientifically tosses the pouch full of wolfsbane toward the open space in the center of the circle of power. It lands with a soft "thump" on the cold, hard stone and rests there just long enough for Raizenbrayne to begin to let out his breath, when he is interrupted by a shift.

When you feel it, you know immediately that it is the "vibration" that old Gunter spoke of when discussing the fortress. But Raizenbrayne, with his Wizard's senses, knows that it's no tangible thing making echoes in the earth, but rather an aetheric explosion, a significant release of energy accompanying an effect of significant strength. It is as though a ripple passes outward through space, centered on the floating stone and radiating outward at incredible speed with the force of a hundred thousand very soft balls of cotton. Shift. Shift.

As the waves of energy pass across the party, everyone's mouth goes suddenly dry, their hearts skip a single beat, the food digesting in their bellies withers and fades into nothingness. The metal buckles on their gear tarnish ever so slightly, the leather and cloth dry and stiffen almost imperceptibly. Raizenbrayne's torch gutters and goes out, while Harlan's candle flares dramatically and the remainder of the wax melts, forcing him to drop it on the ground to avoid having his outstretched hand scalded with the spatters flying off the holder. The sound of the brass candle-holder striking the flagstone floor is muffled, as though heard from a great distance.

A long, silent moment passes, and then the ever-present mist coalesces into a humanoid form in the middle of the circle of power. A tall, armored man with a stiff, square beard stands before Raizenbrayne, and he opens his mouth as if to speak. Instead of words, a long, droning noise emanates from the figure, the whistling, rustling sound of the turning of hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of pages.

Raizenbrayne finds himself unable to look away from the figure as its mouth opens wider, and yet wider, the yawning darkness within engulfing the entire expanse of his vision. Soon, he finds himself surrounded by utter darkness, assaulted by the sound of turning pages, unable to close his mind or his ears to the horrible sound of endless words with no voice. Finally, defeated, he slumps to the floor, having learned fell knowledge from the voice of the specter--that in the endless expanse of dark eons, even gods may die, and be forgotten. The scope of that revelation compared with the tiny light of his own existence is horrifying.

As the Wizard lies on the stones, gasping for breath and half-conscious, the figure closes its mouth, nods sagely toward Raizenbrayne's prone form, and evaporates into mist once more.

Raizenbrayne is Afraid. Anyone else who wants to be scared can also be, but there will be no mechanical effect.

---

Party Status:
Raizenbrayne, Afraid, Hungry & Thirsty with Dagger and Extinguished Torch in Hand (1 Turn remains) (1 Check)
Agrom, Hungry & Thirsty with Sword and Shield in Hand (1 Check)
Harlan, Hungry & Thirsty with Sling in Hand (2 Checks)

[Keehnelf]

p.s. Lore Master is one of those skills where both Conditions and Twists are scary, since the essence of the skill is meddling with things that normal folks consider best left alone.

As a refresher to the memory, Afraid means that Raizenbrayne cannot Help or use Beginner's Luck until he loses the condition.

[sulldawga]

Did Agrom see the Pilgrim, or was it just Raiz?

[Keehnelf]

Everyone saw the figure. Raiz was the only one affected by the sound, however.

[Keehnelf]

To clarify, since there is no immediate and obvious danger at this point, we can assume that Raizenbrayne is able to participate fully whenever he chooses to.

[Starbeard]

'…Whoah.'

Raizenbrayne lays slumped on the floor, unable to move and staring emptily at the sky, either too dumbstruck or too afraid to blink. Finally, 'Well, I think I know what it does now.'

[Keehnelf]

'…Whoah.'

Raizenbrayne lays slumped on the floor, unable to move and staring emptily at the sky, either too dumbstruck or too afraid to blink. Finally, 'Well, I think I know what it does now.'

I think we are all curious to hear the explanation.

[Simon]

Harlan Wax

For a long moment Harlan is silent, his breath rasping against his dry tongue, eyes opened wide and tearing. The vast and horrible rustling still echoes in his heart, but, as if stirred from sleep, a deep well of courage rises to meet it. He drops to the ground and grabs the copper candle-holder, quickly lighting another as he rushes into the room, to the side of his friend. At the sound of Raizenbrayne's voice Harlan breathes a sigh of relief. Thank the lords of light your alright. Was that the Pilgrim? He looks none too happy. Here, take this. Hands shaking, Harlan will then pull the skin of wine from his hip and offer a gulp to Raizenbrayne before taking one himself.

[Keehnelf]

Harlan empties the bottle of wine into his own mouth and Raizenbrayne's, curbing the worst of their thirst.

---

Party Status:
Harlan, with Candle and Sling in Hand (4 Turns remain) (2 Checks)
Raizenbrayne, Afraid with extinguished Torch and Dagger in Hand (Dim Light) (1 Turn remains) (1 Check)
Agrom, Hungry & Thirsty with Sword and Shield in Hand (Dim Light) (1 Check)

[sulldawga]

Agrom

Wow. Even a dying god has a lot of power left in him. I have so much respect for the Pilgrim right now.

Agrom will drop to one knee and offer a silent prayer to the Pilgrim, asking for guidance in the hours and days ahead.

Is anyone else extremely hungry all of a sudden? I think we should lunch here while Raiz explains to us what the hell just happened.